Living Hope, Redemptive Suffering • 07.16.23
Nick Lees   -   July 16, 2023

Living Hope, Redemptive Suffering
1 Peter 1:1-12

Embracing the sovereignty of God in salvation and suffering

  1. Know who you are
  2. Rejoice in God’s mercy in salvation
  3. Endure the suffering God allows in your life
  4. Recognize your place in redemptive history

Good morning church family! What a sweet week of ministry at our High Five camp. Thank you to everyone who served to make it a reality. Thank you for praying for the ministry as well! We know of at least 2 kids who made professions of faith during camp and a number of others who indicated they want to talk more about the gospel.

Today, as you’ve already heard, we’re having a special High Five themed service, with our worship songs and décor still reflecting what the kids experienced this week. Afterwards, we’ll journey out to the church lawn to enjoy some donuts and yard games and fellowship after a long week. I know many of you are very tired! Thank you for seeking to love and serve others well. Your sacrifice of time and talent was worth it. 120+ kids and volunteers got to hear about Jesus and be challenged/encouraged to pursue him.

If you’re visiting with us today, we’re glad you’re here! We are going to continue in our worship of God this morning by studying his Word. Today is our second week in a new sermon series on the book of 1 Peter, which we have titled “Elect Exiles: Living as Outsiders”. Last week, we did an overview of the entire book and today we’re going to dive into a study of the first 12 verses of chapter 1.

Ushers + Bibles (1 Peter; page 1202)

Before we dive into our reading, I thought it might be beneficial to review some of the big picture of the book again. If you know the answer, shout it out.

  • Who is the author? – Peter (one of Jesus’ first disciples; leader in the early church)
  • When was it written? – ~62 A.D. (within 30 years of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection)
  • Where was it written? – Rome (prison?)
  • To whom was it written? – (MAP) Christians throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey)
  • Why was it written?
    • To remind them of their identity and purpose
      • Exiles/Sojourners + Called to be God’s people who represent Him (proclaim his excellencies)
    • To encourage them to think rightly about their salvation and their suffering
      • You will suffer for Christ; you’re not alone; it is redemptive
    • To help them represent Christ well and glorify God, especially in the face of opposition
      • Be holy; Be witnesses; Be loving

(Series Image)

I don’t know what you believe about the Bible, but our church believes that it is the Word of God. That it is given to us by God with his authority behind it and that it gives us clear instruction for how to live a godly life. This is what the Bible claims for itself. And that gives me great hope this morning. It should do the same for you! It means that as we open up this book to study it, there is truth from the Creator written here for our instruction and benefit. That if we put time and effort into learning what he has for us in this passage our lives will be changed in a way that helps us live wisely and well on this earth. You can be equipped this morning to know God better and to respond to him in joyful obedience. This is especially helpful given the challenging topics that will be covered in this particular section! God’s sovereignty (absolute rule/authority/power) in salvation and suffering. Let’s read our text for today.

1 Peter 1:1–12 (ESV)

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

 

3 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 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, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

What a start to a letter! God uses Peter to communicate some incredible truths in this section of Scripture. From the very start, even in the greeting, Peter is laying out deep truths to his audience. And these are not high and lofty truths that have no relevance to daily life… Oh no! The things Peter is writing about affect how we think about and respond to the situations we face each day. *Pause*

So, let’s take our time this morning walking through this passage and discovering the beauty of what is taught by God’s Word. As we do so, it is with the goal of…

Embracing the sovereignty of God in salvation and suffering

At the start of his letter, Peter introduces some of the themes that he will continue to address in his letter, one of which is God’s sovereignty in both our salvation and our suffering. Now, for some, that concept may cause you discomfort – usually we like the thought of God being powerful and in control when it comes to us having a good and comfortable life, but when we hear that he is also powerful and in control of the suffering that enters our lives, that can be hard to hear.

Yet how does Peter respond to these realities? He praises God! He rejoices and calls them to rejoice. Rejoice in what? Rejoice in the great salvation that God has granted to them and that the suffering that he allows along the way is producing holiness/glory in them. Peter models for us an important concept… Rejoicing is possible when you understand salvation and suffering are of God and for our eternal good and his glory. Peter is going to help us understand that. He’s also going to put suffering into a proper perspective. So, let’s dig into the Word! Embracing the sovereignty of God in salvation and suffering begins with what we see in verses 1-2…

  1. Know who you are

Who am I? That’s what we asked last week. The question of identity. Peter begins his letter with answers to this foundational question:

  • You are elect exiles

Meaning they are God’s chosen people. That is what it means to be elect. God, as the Creator and Ruler of all things, in his sovereignty, has chosen specific people to be his from eternity past. Not because of anything they had done or will do, but simply because of his mercy/grace. The doctrine of election is a beautiful one because it gives us the hope that SOME of sinful humanity will be saved. Without God’s plan to save some, we would all remain dead in our sins, unable to respond to Jesus Christ in faith. This doctrine is taught and elaborated on throughout the pages of Scripture. It is not my intent this morning to give a full defense of it, as Peter simply assumes that it is factual in his greeting to his audience. If you’d like to talk more about it or have resources to study on it, please let me know after the service!

Returning to 1 Peter 1:1… We see they are not only the elect; they are elect exiles. An exile is someone who is absent from their homeland. Why are they identified as elect exiles? Because God has chosen them to be his people who serve his kingdom. This world is no longer their home. Last week we heard this explained in terms like sojourner or stranger or alien.

An elect exile is someone God has chosen to be his, which means they are living for his kingdom rather than their own kingdom or even for the world’s values. God’s calling has made them an outsider to the world around them. This identity is not only true for the audience of 1 Peter, but also for all who are part of God’s chosen people to this day. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you are an elect exile. You are plucked out of the kingdom of this world by the mercies of God to be part of his heavenly kingdom. How incredible is that?! But the amazing truth does not stop there. Peter goes on to share more wonderful statements about a Christian’s identity in verse 2.

They are elect exiles according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. By foreknowledge, Peter means that God determined this before time began. From eternity past, God knew that he would call them to be his people based solely on his grace/mercy. Mind-boggling! God knows who are his.

Not only is the Father involved in our salvation, but Peter also tells us of the Spirit and the Son’s roles too. “In the sanctification of the Spirit” means God the Holy Spirit brings you to salvation and grows you up in it. And “for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood” means that Jesus Christ, God the Son, is the one whom you believe in for eternal life and by whose blood you are purified or made holy. Peter speaks more about that in 1:18-19, and we heard quite a bit about the purifying blood of Christ in Hebrews 9-10 earlier this year.

There is an incredible beauty to this understanding of God’s sovereignty in salvation. The entire Godhead is involved in redeeming you to himself! What is your response to that? How could it be anything less than rejoicing? What tremendous truth to consider and respond to! God has shown us incredible mercy by choosing us and loving us even when we were dead in sin and rejecting him. Which is why Peter moves from this greeting to a response of praise!

If we’re going to embrace the sovereignty of God in salvation and suffering, then we must join Peter as we…

  1. Rejoice in God’s mercy in salvation

All throughout this week at High Five Camp we talked about the “sin cycle” that we as humans are stuck in. Outside of faith in Christ, we cannot stop the sin cycle. We disobey God, we rebel against him and go our own way. We are born with a sin nature, and it is evident from the youngest of ages – our selfishness is on display before we can even utter our first words. We all know this to be true, you simply have to spend a few days with a toddler to confirm it. Or you likely see it on display in the adults around you too. We all know that we disobey God. And God is perfectly holy and just. As the King of Kings, he must respond righteously to sin. Which means he must judge our sin. To do anything less would be unjust or unrighteous and God is neither. Everyone wants a just King, one who rules fairly and does not show partiality, but do you realize that means that everyone of us stands condemned before such a King?!

Kids, what does Romans 3:23 tell us?

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

That is all-encompassing. Every single one of us. Every human has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Except one. Jesus Christ. This is where the great mercy of God is on display. God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue and redeem sinners like us. The passage in Romans continues…

Romans 3:24–26 (ESV)

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God’s great mercy is revealed through Jesus Christ. He has made a way for sinners to be forgiven and justified (declared righteous) through Jesus taking on the penalty and wrath for our sin.

As Peter put it…

1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

3 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,

“He has caused us” – God did it! It was his will and his sovereignty that accomplished it. “He has caused us… to be born again.” Peter is not talking about a physical rebirth, but a spiritual rebirth. He is saying that God’s mercy (God’s compassion towards those in need) is what led to Peter, his original audience, and any of us who believe in Christ throughout history to be spiritually reborn. We are no longer vessels for God’s wrath but vessels for his great mercy! The same great mercy that saved them is the same great mercy that saves us! For that, we rejoice! Hallelujah, thank you God!

And the reality is that through Christ you are born again to a living hope! When a person is saved out of sin and death they are saved into new and eternal life in Jesus. And Jesus, our Savior, lives, and reigns in heaven. He is not dead, but alive. Our hope in him is not limited to his finished work at his cross and empty tomb, it also carries on into his eternal rule and reign at the right hand of God! We rejoice that Jesus has conquered death through his resurrection thereby securing us a living hope!

As we sang earlier:

This is our God

This is who He is

He loves us

 

This is our God

This is what He does

He saves us

 

He bore the cross

Beat the grave

Let Heaven and Earth proclaim

This is our God, King Jesus

Through God’s sovereignty, he has planned and accomplished the salvation of his people! If you are in Christ this morning, then you have personally been blessed by God’s great mercy. And the promise for you is that you have an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance that is kept in heaven for you! God’s great mercy not only saved you from his wrath, it brought you into his family and guarantees you an inheritance in his kingdom. An inheritance that God guards/protects by keeping you in the faith until the end.

These are powerful truths to consider this morning. God is the one who provides salvation, calls you to believe in Jesus for salvation, enables your salvation through spiritual rebirth, and protects your salvation by giving you enduring faith. If that sounds a bit incredible, that is because it is! Ironically, earlier this week, I came across the following graphic and I thought it would be helpful to share today. (Ordo Salutis Graphic) There is a lot going on here, but what you’re looking at is known as the Ordo Salutis or the Order of Salvation. It depicts the Scripture’s teachings on God’s plan of salvation for his people.

Talk through graphic

Every component of our salvation is an act of God’s mercy.

This does not negate our responsibility to respond in faith and to persevere/endure in the faith. Scripture clearly teaches that God is sovereign in our salvation AND that our decisions are real and accountable. These truths are meant to encourage you that God is working in you and will preserve your faith through sufferings until the end. Faith and hope are gifts to us from God, and he fortifies you to persist in them until the end.

I hope you would agree that God’s mercy is richly poured out on us through salvation and that we have much to rejoice in as a result! Having a rich understanding of this helps us to then embrace God’s sovereignty in our suffering as you…

  1. Endure the suffering God allows in your life

Peter transitions from his rejoicing in the great mercy of God in salvation in verses 3-5 to the acknowledgement of the reality of suffering in the believer’s life in verses 6-9. This is where we begin to squirm in our seats. “You mean life as a Christian involves suffering?!” Yes, it does. In fact, as we discussed last week, life as a Christian is guaranteed by Jesus to result in rejection and opposition from those who oppose Christ, which is most people in our world.

God, speaking through Peter, tells his audience that these trials will grieve them. Do you ever stop to think about that word choice? How hard does a trial need to be to cause you grief? Yikes! We’re not talking about a stubbed toe here. These are situations or relationships that are hard and tumultuous. We know from reading the rest of the letter that it looks like animosity from your spouse or your friends or your governing authorities. People treating you poorly or ridiculing you for your faith. Cutting you down because you won’t join them in their sin. You can experience that on a daily basis these days if you are living out your faith in the public square. We live in a day when employers will take action against Christian employees for failing to bow the knee to the latest cultural crusade, even when it flies in the face of the facts.

Peter offers a word of encouragement. These trials are not meaningless! They are testing and refining your faith. Proving it to be authentic and refining it to be pure and holy as you allow the trial to have its intended effect. Don’t short-circuit it by giving in to temptation or societal pressure. Don’t try to minimize it by taking less of a bold stand for Jesus.

Consider how the Apostle James spoke of trials:

James 1:2–4 (ESV)

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Why could James call them to count trials as all joy? Because they knew that it was producing something in them! Steadfastness which results in perfection. Do you hear that? If you want to be perfect and complete, ready for eternity, then count trials as all joy and embrace God’s sovereignty in allowing them into your life. Because you know that they are there for a reason – to produce holiness in you! This is what the title of the sermon is meant to communicate by “redemptive suffering” – it is not meaningless – God is using it to redemptively in your sanctification or growth in holiness.

In our study of Hebrews, we encountered similar teaching about God’s ability to redeem our suffering for our good and his glory. Back then we asked the following questions, that are still quite timely:

Do you believe that God knows what is needed to produce righteousness in you? Do you trust him to do what it takes to produce it?  *pause*

Praise God that these sufferings are temporary. “A little while” is how Peter puts it. However, it is important to understand that he is speaking in light of eternity. When you realize that you get to enjoy eternal life without sin, suffering, sickness, sadness, or death, then the trials and sufferings that you endure in this present life are only “a little while” in comparison. Allow your eternal hope to give you perspective in the face of present suffering. And rejoice that the result of these refining trials is praise/glory/honor when Christ returns. God is producing these in you to be on display at the return of his Son! You will radiate and reflect the glory of your Creator as you endure these sufferings by faith.

Why do you think Peter emphasizes this in his letter? Could it be that it is very easy for us to mishandle our sufferings or to think incorrectly about them?

  • “God, I can’t believe you allowed this into my life!”
  • “I thought you were good and loving.”
  • “Why would this happen to me? I’ve been a good person!”
  • “How can I get out of this as quickly as possible?”
  • “I must have done something incredibly wrong to deserve this. God must be mad at me.”
  • “Nothing good can come of my situation/circumstances.”
  • “I have no hope in the midst of my suffering. Nothing to live for.”

These are only a few of the possible responses to our suffering! And all of them are focused on the wrong thing. They are about self, about escape or comfort, and they give voice to wrong views about God and his ways. They are all contrary to Scripture and yet so easy to believe or think in the moment if we are not calibrating our lives according to God’s Word.

But these are responses that come naturally to us, aren’t they? At least they do for me. Without taking my thoughts captive according to the truth in God’s Word, I naturally do whatever I can to try to escape trials and suffering. Which may lead me to water down the Gospel, fail to confront sin when needed, or stop caring about learning the intended lesson God has for me or for others through trials. These are high costs to pay! Or, if left unchecked, thinking incorrectly about trials and suffering may lead us to despair of life itself. I am convinced that so much of our struggling with depression, anxiety, and despair is a result of handling life’s troubles unbiblically. Because when we bring our trials and anxieties to the Lord and handle them the way he teaches us to in his Word, then there is grace and peace given to us during the trial! God has a plan to redeem our suffering, but if we run in the opposite direction of what he intends, we simply magnify our suffering rather than the glory that could be produced and revealed in and through us. (repeat) *Pause*

If suffering is a promised reality for Christians, and it is… Then Peter is incredibly loving to write extensively about it in this letter. And we would be wise to hear what he is saying and take it to heart.

Suffering is redemptive when we respond in the way that God teaches us. Let us lean into the hard things of life by turning to him, searching his Word to see what he says, crying out to him in prayer, walking with others in Christian community to bear the burdens with us, and actively obeying his counsel to us. As we do these things, God promises to produce a refined and holy faith in us. The outcome of holding fast to Christ through trials is described in verses 8-9 as “belief in him”, “rejoicing with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”, and “the salvation of your souls”. Doesn’t that sound like such sweeter fruit than anxiety, despair, and depression? Let’s make it our aim to endure trials God’s way. *pause*

Well, our final component for today of embracing the sovereignty of God in salvation and suffering is found in verses 10-12 and it is…

  1. Recognize your place in redemptive history

This passage can seem like a bit of an interruption to Paul’s line of rejoicing and instruction for them. Why does he stop to point out the place of the prophets and angels in relation to their salvation? He wants his audience to understand just how incredible their place is in redemption history!

As New Testament Christians, they are living in the days that the Old Testament prophets inquired and wrote about. These 1st century people who have believed in Jesus Christ are enjoying the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and promises! They are getting to rejoice in the Messiah’s finished work, the same Messiah that the prophets had to wait hundreds, if not thousands, of years for…

In the same vein, not only the prophets but the heavenly host long to look at and understand God’s plan of redemption! Even the angels do not know all of the details of the plan of God, and they find it fascinating to watch it unfold. They are amazed that God has shown such great mercy to sinful men and women like you and me. The fallen angels did not receive a Savior like fallen men. Jesus came down in human form to save human sinners. What an incredible privilege to be on the receiving end of his mercy!! The fallen angels do not have the hope of redemption that we do.

As Christians, you and I get to experience this living hope and redemptive suffering firsthand. Do you value this incredible reality and blessing? Are you in awe of it? … Are you willing to embrace it? God is sovereign over your salvation and suffering. Will you trust him in it?

And will you gladly tell others of the source of your hope in suffering? That’s what we’ve been able to do this past week in High Five camp – tell others about the glories of God’s love in Christ. But we know that is not a one-week a year kind of thing… This is an every-day command of God for us! “Go and make disciples!” Today! Tomorrow! And everyday hereafter until Christ returns!

What will that look like in your life this week? Perhaps it is following up with a family that you interacted with at High Five. Perhaps it is sitting down to study the Bible with someone in your life – your spouse/co-worker/neighbor/friend/child/roommate. Perhaps it is first confessing your poor response to suffering and asking God and others for help in responding differently. Perhaps it is realizing you have never trusted in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul and forgiveness of your sins; if that is you, I’d love to talk with you after the service and help you know how you can have the hope of eternal life.

Whatever it is for you, I want to encourage you to take that step of obedience today. Don’t wait for that conviction to fade away. Act upon it! Take that step of obedience and enjoy the good fruit that God produces in you.

Let’s pray.

Pray