Sermon Tone Analysis

Back in the early 90s, Microsoft touted Word, their flagship Word processing program as one that was WYSIWYG - Whizzy-Wig.

WYSIWYG

Previously, word processing programs didn’t automatically show you what it would actually look like on the page once printed.

So Whizzy-Wig was a great improvement in helping people adopt and adapt to personal computers.

But in life, we need to understand that it isn’t always Whizzy-Wig.

It is the case that what you see, what you perceive, isn’t always what you get!

Peter addresses a persecuted, marginalised, people.

And that is how the world saw them, and perhaps it is how they may have seen themselves.

But, Peter, we saw last week, addressed them as God’s special people, as elect exiles.

Though they are despised wanderers in the world, they are chosen and embraced by God.

His Holy Spirit makes them entirely acceptable so that they can loyally serve Jesus, the crucified King.

Because of this they are favoured with an abundance of God’s peace.

In this first section of 1 Peter, the apostle presents the indicative, the Theological Basis (1:3–2:10), the “because of these things”.

In the second part of the book we will see the imperative, the “then this is how we must live for God’s glory.”

What is that indicative, the theological basis, the “because of these things” sort of truths?

It is this:

Through Christ we have been given a glorious salvation in the future which cannot be taken away from us.

Doxology, the way of life in praise of God, provides the context for the Christian’s new life in Christ because both our experience of suffering grief in trials and our present and ultimate salvation is the goal not only of our faith but also of the plan of God as revealed to the prophets.

We will break this into four parts:

A New Hope, A New Life, 3-5

Humiliation & Confirmation, 6-7

Though it Seems Far Away, Victory is Secure, 8-9

This Is All Part of God’s Plan, 10-12

1.

A New Hope, A New Life, 3-5

In the context of the suffering which believers here in 1 Peter were facing, this focus on their future inheritance is especially important.

When we as individuals or as a church suffer on account of our being elect exiles, to use the language in 1 Peter 1:1,2, it usually means that there is a loss, that something or someone is being removed from our lives, whether that be a church building, a pastor’s reputation, loss of friendships, economic loss, our religious liberties or even our lives.

So in this context Peter, reminds them of the one thing which can never be taken from them: their future inheritance, this new, eternal life that they and we have in Jesus Christ .

i) How is New Life made available (1:3)?

The gift of this future inheritance is made available through God’s mercy and is therefore totally undeserved.

The first step is that the Christian is born again or experiences a new birth (as in John 3:3).

This opens up for us a new life and a new future which Peter calls a ‘living hope’.

This is only made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: as Jesus is raised to new resurrection life with glory to come ( as we’re told in 1 Peter 1:21)

so we in Christ are granted new life by being born again with this certainty of glory to come ( as we are told in 1 Peter 1:5, 7, 9, 13).

Throughout the letter these parallels are important.

ii) What is this New Life (1:4, 5)

1 Peter 1:4-5

Our inheritance is kept for us, 4

We are kept for our inheritance, 5

There would be little point in promising a glorious inheritance if there was only a slim chance of the believer arriving at his destination to receive it.

We would absolutely no assurance!

But that is definitely not the case with this inheritance.

Peter assures his readers, especially in the light of persecution and opposition, that God’s power will shield them all the way to ensure that they make it.

It is guarded.

Peter uses a military metaphor to underline the security we may enjoy en route to heaven, and again we pick up echoes of God leading His people through the wilderness (Exod.

23:20), protecting them along the way.

The future to which we as Christians can look forward with confidence is like the Israelites’ hope of the Promised Land.

Peter will use the history of the Israelites and apply it to these mostly Gentile believers he is addressing.

For us, this side of the Cross, this inheritance is secure , one which ‘can never perish, spoil or fade’ (1:4).

We can hear echoes of Jesus’ words concerning treasures in heaven (Matt.

6:19–21).

Though other inheritances can be frittered away before they can be claimed, this one is absolutely secure and guaranteed.

iii) When is this New Life received (1:5)?

The inheritance is to be revealed ‘in the last time’ (1:5), which is linked to the day when Jesus Christ is revealed (1:7, 13).

Peter views Jesus Christ as present but currently hidden (1:8), needing only to be revealed at the appropriate time.

At that point, and not until that glorious day, Christians will have reached their goal and will receive the salvation of their souls (1:9).

One of Scripture’s themes regarding the Christian life is that our life is dependent on the pattern of Jesus Christ’s life.

We see this often in the NT letters where we see phrases such as “in Christ” and “with Christ.”

What happens to Jesus Christ happens to us.

This is true of Jesus’ sufferings ( as we will see later on in chapter 2:21–23; 4:1), but for the moment we can see that if it is Jesus’ resurrection which will grant us new life, then it is the appearing of Jesus Christ in glory which grants us glory (1 Peter 1:7).

The Christian life is one of continually following the Lord Jesus Christ.

He has pioneered the trail to our inheritance and we follow Him to meet Him there.

No wonder the natural response for us believers should be that of praise (1:3) and joy (1:6a).

In fact, it is a joy that is ‘inexpressible’ (1 Peter 1:8b).

What a glorious future awaits every believer!

Though currently in exile, homeless and perhaps suffering in a hostile environment, these believers Peter is addressing have the prospect of a home in glory and of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ face-to-face.

And if you are in Christ this morning, so do you!

2. Humiliation & Confirmation, 6-7

An active faith, an active trusting in God and His promises for us as Christians is vitally important as we head towards our inheritance.

Though now it appears as an unseen goal, it is not surprising that God may have to strengthen our faith during our journey to that Promised Land (see 1:6).

That is the theme which Peter now introduces in 1 Peter 1:6–9.

The period of our pilgrimage between the present and the goal is characterised as ‘a little while’ (1:6; 5:10).

In this period there may be brief bumps and even very protracted, grievous tragedies along the way because of various trials (cf.

4:12).

Yet Peter wants them and us to see that there is a very clear purpose behind these trials.

They are designed to refine and strengthen faith (1:6) so that it will be seen to be the genuine article (1:7), and result in praise, glory and honour being bestowed on us who believe and follow Jesus when He is finally revealed.

Peter speaks of our being refined by the trials that the Lord brings into our lives.

It will help us to understand this illustration by taking a few moments to look at the refining process:

Stage I: The Breaking

—The refiner breaks up the natural ore.

In biblical times, a refiner began by breaking up rough ore—hardened rock encased with common minerals such as tin, copper, and zinc.

But that rock also had the promise of valuable, rare metals hidden within—the precious metals of gold and silver.

The breaking of the rock is necessary to begin the refining process to expose precious metal ores to heat.

Stage II: The Crucible

—The refiner places unrefined metal ore into a crucible.

The refiner puts broken, crushed ore into a “crucible”—a fireproof melting pot able to withstand extreme heat.

Then the refiner places the crucible into the furnace at the precise temperature necessary for removing other metals that would mar the quality of the gold or silver.

Just as the furnace is used to purify gold or silver in the crucible, our Refiner uses heat to purify our hearts and cleanse our character.

Stage III: The Dross

—The refiner places the crucible in the heated furnace to remove dross.

As the ore melts in the crucible under the watchful eye of the refiner, a layer of impurities called “dross” eventually forms on the surface.

For us individually, dross represents any wrong motive, wrong attitude, wrong action—anything that keeps us from being all that God wants us to be.

Stage IV: The Heat

—The refiner raises the temperature to higher degrees.

After the refiner painstakingly skims off these impurities, he then turns up the heat and places the crucible back into the blistering furnace.

Again and again (up to seven times, we are told in historical literature) impurities rise to the surface.

He knows that only certain impurities are released at certain temperatures.

Stage V: The Purification

—The refiner continues to remove the impurities.

Each time, with utmost skill and patience, the refiner removes the dross, leaving behind gleaming gold and shimmering silver . . .

more pure and precious than before.

To gauge his progress, the refiner looks for his own reflection on the surface of the molten metal in the crucible.

The more dross removed, the less distorted his reflection.