As I stepped onto my deck at 7 a.m. this morning, I was under a canopy of clouds, in the presence of Father God. I hope my neighbors heard me yell, “Halleluiah, what a Savior! Thank You Father for a new day!” For today’s post, I have tarried in 1 Peter chapter 1 and want to share some insights from Holy Spirit as we begin with Peter’s ‘Greeting to the Elect Pilgrims’.

1 Peter:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Peter was not writing just to these pilgrims, but also to those of us who have come after. All of us who are Believers are part of the elect according to God’s foreknowledge of us. The Spirit sanctifies us, accomplished in us by obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. As we walk in obedience and sanctification, grace and peace multiply in our lives. Do you believe He sanctifies you; not by works of righteousness you have done, but according to Father God’s mercy? Let’s dig into the Heavenly inheritance we have.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our Father God has blessed us with abundant mercy in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have a living hope that will never end; it’s living and growing in us daily. Halleluiah, the power of God shall keep us through faith; which comes from God and grows in us. Therefore, we have hope. Why do we rejoice?

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

We rejoice in this salvation even as we find grief in these trials all around us. These trials come to test our faith, its goal found in Jesus Christ. Blessed is he that has not seen Christ, but loves Him anyway. What inexpressible joy comes as we trust Jesus! The prophets and angels wonder.

¹⁰ Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, ¹¹ searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ¹² To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

Rejoice that you are experiencing what the prophets faithfully proclaimed, even though they did not understand how their words would come to pass. Angels question and marvel at the salvation we enjoy. They cannot experience what we do as we triumph in Jesus’ sufferings and glory. Don’t waste all that we have in Christ Jesus!

¹³ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Our hope rests in the grace brought to us with the revelation of Jesus Christ in us. This grace increases as we obey and turn away from fleshly lusts and ignorance. We all wonder how to become holy as He is; it comes from communion with the Lord and walking daily in His presence.

¹⁷ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; ¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. ²⁰ He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you ²¹ who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

This paragraph explains the worth of our lives in view of Christ’s sacrifice. God’s work which gave our Messiah glory empowers us to put faith and hope in God. The last section of this chapter explains the endurance of God’s Word and what glory there is in the Gospel and reason for spreading it far and wide!

²² Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ²⁴ because “All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Dear friends, join me as I stand on God’s promises and follow the Lord into victory through these times Father God chose for us to be on this earth. Shalom dear readers!