Ground Breaking Gospel

1 Peter 1:13–2:3 NLT

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Foundational shifts

Jesus taught of the new reality

-What did it mean to be God’s people?

-Israelites -12 tribes from the family line of Israel

-saved out of Egypt

-wandered in the desert

-Live in the promise land

-live in covenant relationship with God

-Temple worship

Jesus Ministry he

went into the desert

-preparation for ministry similar to Israel’s preparation to be in the promise land

chose 12 disciples

-this would have been significant to Jewish community mirroring the 12 tribes of Israel

Temple worship

-part of the life of Jewish community

-Jesus started shifting idea of temple from the building to himself as the representation of the temple

after Jesus cleared the temple

John 2:18–19 NLT

But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.” “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Are you willing to put aside the THINGS that made you gods people to follow the one who is bringing you into his people.

NOW Peter was ministering to predominately Jews until he had another foundational shift encounter with God

-God comes to Peter on a roof top and shows him a vision

-God is showing him through the blanket coming down that the people whom they once disregarded gentiles are to be seen and invited as God’s people.

Acts 10 is where peter sees this vision

This brings us to the monumental shift that is written in Peters first letter to the gentiles in the Asia Minor area (modern day turkey)

1 Peter 1:2 NLT

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

This news was truly life changing ground breaking

Peter goes on to say

1 Peter 1:8–12 NLT

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

You must live as God’s obedient children

-Peter was letting the new people know that God does have a standard and requires obedience

1 Peter 1:15–16 NLT

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

He is now showing them that they, as Gentiles, are being grafted in to the people of God

-You must be Holy because I am Holy is straight out of Leviticus in a conversation God was having with Israel when he was establishing their identity as His people.

Through Jesus they now have someone they can look to as the place to receive the love God has for them

1 Peter 1:22–23 NLT

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

The eastern understanding of

Finally Peter calls them to a place of healing:

1 Peter 2:1–3 NLT

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Peter was calling the people to shed evil behavior:

behavior that was not only personal, but communal in nature

Application

Thomas chalmers said in his writting THE EXPULSION OF SIN BY A NEW AFFECTION

There are two ways people try to get the world out of their heart. The first way is by focusing on the “badness” of the world, hoping that our hearts are then repelled by it. The second way is by finding God and attaching our heart’s passion to Him. When we do this, we don’t focus on quitting sin for quitting sin’s sake. Instead God satisfies our heart so much that we exchange His satisfaction for the old satisfaction we found in sin.

Jesus wants to pour his love into the broken places in our lives.

AS we are working to build the kingdom

-There will be things we need to let go of so Jesus can lead us into what he is calling us into this next chapter for our community.

-Individually you will have this that we need to put on the altar.

-we will come across places in our life that needs healing places that have been broken up that we find injuries and hurts either within ourselves or in relationship with others.

-Jesus wants to pour his love into those places of hurt

-The proportion of Jesus’ love can never be outweighed by our hurt or pain.

-AS we continue to spend time in his love the affections we have to hold onto our hurt, preferences, sin, will be be replaced by the life giving love.

Then we have the opportunity to pour his love into the broken places, hurt places, places of sin and suffering in other people’s lives. Bringing the healing Jesus has for his creation through our lives.