Monday, November 27, 2006
A Greater Thanksgiving
1 Peter 1:10-12
11/26/06 D. Marion Clark
Community Evangelical Free Church, Elverson, PA
I trust you had a good Thanksgiving. A holiday created simply to give thanks is a wonderful idea, and, of course, had to be thought of by Christians. It is natural for those who know their Creator and Provider to think of giving thanks for his manifold blessings. Our pilgrim fathers and mothers were merely following the long line of Christians in every generation whose instinct is to give thanks to their God who faithfully provides.
The text we are considering this morning follows a passage of thanksgiving. Peter greets his readers as God’s elect for whom all three persons of the godhead have actively worked for their salvation. He then bursts into praise: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! And for good reason, for he sets forth the wondrous grace of redemption: We have born again into living hope of an inheritance of eternal life that we cannot lose. Even our trials are only serving to strengthen our faith for the day when we ourselves will receive praise and glory. Is there anything more that can be said? Well, as if all this news was not enough, Peter wants us to know what other rather important people think of what we have.
Text
First of all, consider what has been passed to us: Concerning this salvation, the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you…
Peter inserts an interesting term in place of salvation. He uses the term grace. He seems to be reminding us that the work of salvation is not our work, but the free gift of God to us. The grace (the free gift) coming to us, is the work of Christ – his incarnation, atonement (the sufferings) and resurrection and ascension (the glories).
These prophets would be the prophets of the Old Testament. We have to be careful not to limit them to the writers of that section that we label prophets. They would include not only those persons with the label but other writers and men of God. David is a prophet who spoke of the Christ, as is Moses. Peter would be thinking of all those who spoke of the Messiah or Christ. Indeed, Peter’s understanding is that all of the scriptures, which would be the Old Testament, look forward to Christ. He learned this lesson from Jesus himself.
Between the time of Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, he taught the disciples how to interpret the Scriptures regarding himself and his kingdom. This started with the two disciples on the Emmaus road:
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).
So when Peter refers in verse 11 to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow, he is recalling Jesus’ teaching, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory”
Jesus told his disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem… and to the ends of the earth.” Peter writes in verse 12, “they (the prophets) spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you.”
Do you see the linkage? The prophets predicted the sufferings and glories of the Christ. Jesus comes, fulfills the prophecies, and then gives instruction to his disciples on how to understand the scriptures. These disciples are to become his apostles whom he sends out to bear witness about him. They do this by testifying what they have seen as eyewitnesses and by opening up the scriptures that reveal him. They are the heirs to the gospel ministry begun by the prophets and embodied by Jesus Christ.
But Peter’s focus is not so much about the chain of which he is a part, but about the privilege of his readers. Let’s go back to verse 10. The prophets spoke of a grace “that was to come to you.” In verse 12 he writes, “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you.”
Think about how this wondrous grace of the Messiah’s redeeming work was reserved for them. Does this grace apply to the elect of the Old Testament? Yes, but in their lifetimes they did not experience it directly. As people looking through a cloudy telescope, they could only view the far off coming of Christ dimly. There would be a Messiah; he would redeem his people, but who he would be, what he would be like, what redemption would be like, and so on, were mysteries. They still must worship and experience God through the veil of the legal prescriptions. They looked forward to redemption; but Peter’s flock and has experienced it. The writer to the Hebrews puts the matter this way. After upholding the great saints of the OT for their faith, he concludes: These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (11:39,40).
Note too how Peter characterizes the intense interest of the prophets in the message of grace. They searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances. This was no ordinary message. This was THE message and it mattered all the more to them to know when the prophecy would be fulfilled. Indeed, Peter infers that their hope was that it would be fulfilled in their lifetimes: It as revealed to them that they were not serving themselves. But this wondrous message would not be revealed until the lifetime of Peter and his readers.
Note also that the prophets were not merely interested spectators; they were serving Peter’s readers. His people read, or were read to, the scriptures. They heard the stories of the prophets, and would have been fascinated with their lives. Peter is saying, “Those great heroes and messengers were placed on earth during their times not so much to serve the people of their day, but to serve you. The message given to them was for you. You, not their contemporaries, would see the fulfillment of their prophecies.”
So, the people are to understand that the prophets were serving them. Also in their service were the apostles. Verse 12: It was revealed to them [the prophets] that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those [the apostles] who have preached the gospel to you. The apostles, who have received the mantle of the prophets, are now proclaiming the message that the prophets prophesied. This wondrous grace has come in the form of Jesus Christ. The redemption foretold has taken place. And the task of the apostles is to serve people such as Peter’s flock by telling them the good news. The actual telling may come directly from the apostles, such as Peter, or be carried forward through their evangelists; nevertheless, they are but servants of Christ sent by him to serve his people.
Peter also gives his readers insight into the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing this grace. In verse 11, the prophets were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ… The reason the prophets did not fully understand their own message is that it was not their own message. They were but messengers used by the Spirit. In his second epistle, 1:20,21, Peter explains: Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The prophets were not human Dictaphones who passed along verbatim the messages dictated to them. Peter is not describing the methods of the prophets, but rather is making the point that however they received and passed on their messages, it was done through the operations of the Holy Spirit who made sure that their messages were indeed from God. The Holy Spirit inspires the writers so as to insure that their messages are faithful renderings of the messages God intends for his people. Thus Peter can speak of the Spirit of Christ being in the prophets and revealing the prophecies.
The Holy Spirit is also at work in the apostles, verse 12: those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Just as we can be assured of the message of the prophets being that of the Holy Spirit, so we can of the apostles.
What do we have so far? The prophets, the apostles and the Holy Spirit are all teamed up to reveal the wondrous grace to these elect people. Why do I keep referring to the grace as wondrous grace? The angels seem to think so. Even angels long to look into these things.
Even angels who serve the mighty God in his presence are captivated with what is going on with these scattered humans. This grace that has been reserved for them has the attention of the most glorious created beings in the universe. They long to look into the mysteries of what God is doing.
Conclusion
What about us? We are included with the believers of Peter’s day. We don’t even need to reinterpret or reapply the words to make them fit us. We are all part of this age of grace waiting for the final day of revealing. The prophets were serving us. The apostles were serving us. The Holy Spirit worked in them so that we might receive the message, and he continues to work in us so that we will receive it and be brought to new life by it. The angels are watching us to see how this wondrous grace works in us.
Imagine turning on the TV. The scene is a football stadium packed with people; a platform is in the middle of the field with dignitaries; there is an atmosphere of excitement. The announcer tells the audience that the guests to be honored will be arriving shortly, meanwhile he will interview the dignitaries and other guests who played a role in the lives of these honored mystery people. The persons who are interviewed are statesmen, scientists, writers and other specialists, winners of the Nobel prize in their fields. They speak of how they had devoted themselves to seeing that these mystery people would experience the highest honors and blessings in life, and their great satisfaction in life is for this time to come. The anticipation builds as each person is interviewed. The crowd breaks forth into chants calling for the mystery people to appear. Just then you are interrupted by a knock on the door. It’s the police. They ask you to come with them. They whisk you away with a caravan of escort motorcycles. “What is going on?” you wonder. You see the stadium. Are you going to get to take part somehow? Maybe have a front row seat? You get out; there is a small group of other bewildered people. You are led through a tunnel, then suddenly out onto the field and up to the platform. The crowd cheers. The dignitaries stand and bow to you. You are the honored people. All the preparations; all the work has been done for you.
This is what Peter is telling us. We read the stories of the OT saints, impressed with the great acts they accomplished and the miracles they experienced. “Oh that I could experience such things as they did.” They would have given their experience all away if they could have known what you know – the life and work of Jesus Christ. They would have thrown it all away if they could have experienced what you now experience – the grace of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ. Indeed, all that they experienced – the miracles, the visions, the prophecies – were for our benefit, to serve us.
But consider further how much more wondrous their prophecies and signs turned out to be. Could David had known when he wrote the Psalm of his anguish – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me – that he was writing the words of the Greater King David would utter in the hour of redemption? Was Isaiah baffled as he wrote of the child to be born who would be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace? Was he trembling while he wrote of this same child being the Suffering Servant who would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities?
Did the people who looked with hope for the Messiah understand that every animal they sacrificed for their sins were but symbols of the one sacrifice to be made for all sins? Did the prophets and the priests equate the Lion of Judah with the Lamb of God? Could any prophet envision how great the Messiah would truly be – the Incarnate Son of God, One with God in the mystery of the Trinity? Could any angel have figured that his birth and life would be so humble? Could anyone understand the cost of Redemption? Could anyone delve into such love of the Father and of the Son? Could anyone figure out the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Incarnation? Who knew of the Spirit regenerating the hearts of millions upon millions of unknown people speaking all variety of tongues, who never knew of these prophets, nor of their God?
I would charge you on this Lord's Day, the day Christians chose for worship in honor of Christ's resurrection; I charge you to remember that we have a greater thanksgiving to recall than Abraham, Moses, David, and all the people of God who experienced miracles. What is the great work that the psalms give praise to God for? It is the exodus from Egypt. That is the best work of deliverance they can come up with. Ours is the deliverance from the power of sin and death. What faithfulness do they exalt God for? For delivering them from their enemies. That's the best they can do. Ours is preserving us for eternal glory.
We have the redemption won for us – not by a Moses or a David – but by the Almighty Son of God. We have a redemption won for us not by the power of armies nor by the display of supernatural power – but by the sacrifice of the Lord of Glory, who gave his very life upon a cross. Who could have believed this?
And it is for us to know it, for us to believe it, for us to give thanks to God for such a Redemption. Let us not be guilty of having to turn to what is temporal, what is trite, even to what is false to make up for the boredom we may feel because Redemption loses its glamour and our hope of glory seems unreal. Many Christians are guilty of this. We look to signs and wonders because the sign of the cross and the wonder of the atonement and resurrection cannot stir our hearts. We demand to be taught what is practical for living a victorious life because the victory over sin's guilt and over death that Christ won just doesn't connect with what's going on. What has Jesus done for me lately? we want to know. What can the Holy Spirit do now to make me feel better? We have in our own way become like the Israelites who saw the plagues, walked through the Red Sea, followed the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire, and grew discontent with the time and troubles of their journey. Let us not be guilty of the same sin because we lacked imagination and the sense of awe for our God and his mighty works.
It is fitting for Christmas to follow Thanksgiving. For it causes us not to merely look back over the year and give thanks for daily blessings, as good and right as that is to do; but it turns our eyes to the One who is the greatest gift both in value and in wonder. Thanksgiving Day issues in the season of the greater Thanksgiving. Let us look with wonder and awe and joy to the story of Redemption as foretold by the prophets through the Holy Spirit; as reported by the apostles; as passed on from generation to generation through ministers given such a calling, as I, a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pass it on to you this day.
11/26/06 D. Marion Clark
Community Evangelical Free Church, Elverson, PA
I trust you had a good Thanksgiving. A holiday created simply to give thanks is a wonderful idea, and, of course, had to be thought of by Christians. It is natural for those who know their Creator and Provider to think of giving thanks for his manifold blessings. Our pilgrim fathers and mothers were merely following the long line of Christians in every generation whose instinct is to give thanks to their God who faithfully provides.
The text we are considering this morning follows a passage of thanksgiving. Peter greets his readers as God’s elect for whom all three persons of the godhead have actively worked for their salvation. He then bursts into praise: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! And for good reason, for he sets forth the wondrous grace of redemption: We have born again into living hope of an inheritance of eternal life that we cannot lose. Even our trials are only serving to strengthen our faith for the day when we ourselves will receive praise and glory. Is there anything more that can be said? Well, as if all this news was not enough, Peter wants us to know what other rather important people think of what we have.
Text
First of all, consider what has been passed to us: Concerning this salvation, the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you…
Peter inserts an interesting term in place of salvation. He uses the term grace. He seems to be reminding us that the work of salvation is not our work, but the free gift of God to us. The grace (the free gift) coming to us, is the work of Christ – his incarnation, atonement (the sufferings) and resurrection and ascension (the glories).
These prophets would be the prophets of the Old Testament. We have to be careful not to limit them to the writers of that section that we label prophets. They would include not only those persons with the label but other writers and men of God. David is a prophet who spoke of the Christ, as is Moses. Peter would be thinking of all those who spoke of the Messiah or Christ. Indeed, Peter’s understanding is that all of the scriptures, which would be the Old Testament, look forward to Christ. He learned this lesson from Jesus himself.
Between the time of Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, he taught the disciples how to interpret the Scriptures regarding himself and his kingdom. This started with the two disciples on the Emmaus road:
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).
So when Peter refers in verse 11 to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow, he is recalling Jesus’ teaching, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory”
Jesus told his disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem… and to the ends of the earth.” Peter writes in verse 12, “they (the prophets) spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you.”
Do you see the linkage? The prophets predicted the sufferings and glories of the Christ. Jesus comes, fulfills the prophecies, and then gives instruction to his disciples on how to understand the scriptures. These disciples are to become his apostles whom he sends out to bear witness about him. They do this by testifying what they have seen as eyewitnesses and by opening up the scriptures that reveal him. They are the heirs to the gospel ministry begun by the prophets and embodied by Jesus Christ.
But Peter’s focus is not so much about the chain of which he is a part, but about the privilege of his readers. Let’s go back to verse 10. The prophets spoke of a grace “that was to come to you.” In verse 12 he writes, “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you.”
Think about how this wondrous grace of the Messiah’s redeeming work was reserved for them. Does this grace apply to the elect of the Old Testament? Yes, but in their lifetimes they did not experience it directly. As people looking through a cloudy telescope, they could only view the far off coming of Christ dimly. There would be a Messiah; he would redeem his people, but who he would be, what he would be like, what redemption would be like, and so on, were mysteries. They still must worship and experience God through the veil of the legal prescriptions. They looked forward to redemption; but Peter’s flock and has experienced it. The writer to the Hebrews puts the matter this way. After upholding the great saints of the OT for their faith, he concludes: These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (11:39,40).
Note too how Peter characterizes the intense interest of the prophets in the message of grace. They searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances. This was no ordinary message. This was THE message and it mattered all the more to them to know when the prophecy would be fulfilled. Indeed, Peter infers that their hope was that it would be fulfilled in their lifetimes: It as revealed to them that they were not serving themselves. But this wondrous message would not be revealed until the lifetime of Peter and his readers.
Note also that the prophets were not merely interested spectators; they were serving Peter’s readers. His people read, or were read to, the scriptures. They heard the stories of the prophets, and would have been fascinated with their lives. Peter is saying, “Those great heroes and messengers were placed on earth during their times not so much to serve the people of their day, but to serve you. The message given to them was for you. You, not their contemporaries, would see the fulfillment of their prophecies.”
So, the people are to understand that the prophets were serving them. Also in their service were the apostles. Verse 12: It was revealed to them [the prophets] that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those [the apostles] who have preached the gospel to you. The apostles, who have received the mantle of the prophets, are now proclaiming the message that the prophets prophesied. This wondrous grace has come in the form of Jesus Christ. The redemption foretold has taken place. And the task of the apostles is to serve people such as Peter’s flock by telling them the good news. The actual telling may come directly from the apostles, such as Peter, or be carried forward through their evangelists; nevertheless, they are but servants of Christ sent by him to serve his people.
Peter also gives his readers insight into the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing this grace. In verse 11, the prophets were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ… The reason the prophets did not fully understand their own message is that it was not their own message. They were but messengers used by the Spirit. In his second epistle, 1:20,21, Peter explains: Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The prophets were not human Dictaphones who passed along verbatim the messages dictated to them. Peter is not describing the methods of the prophets, but rather is making the point that however they received and passed on their messages, it was done through the operations of the Holy Spirit who made sure that their messages were indeed from God. The Holy Spirit inspires the writers so as to insure that their messages are faithful renderings of the messages God intends for his people. Thus Peter can speak of the Spirit of Christ being in the prophets and revealing the prophecies.
The Holy Spirit is also at work in the apostles, verse 12: those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Just as we can be assured of the message of the prophets being that of the Holy Spirit, so we can of the apostles.
What do we have so far? The prophets, the apostles and the Holy Spirit are all teamed up to reveal the wondrous grace to these elect people. Why do I keep referring to the grace as wondrous grace? The angels seem to think so. Even angels long to look into these things.
Even angels who serve the mighty God in his presence are captivated with what is going on with these scattered humans. This grace that has been reserved for them has the attention of the most glorious created beings in the universe. They long to look into the mysteries of what God is doing.
Conclusion
What about us? We are included with the believers of Peter’s day. We don’t even need to reinterpret or reapply the words to make them fit us. We are all part of this age of grace waiting for the final day of revealing. The prophets were serving us. The apostles were serving us. The Holy Spirit worked in them so that we might receive the message, and he continues to work in us so that we will receive it and be brought to new life by it. The angels are watching us to see how this wondrous grace works in us.
Imagine turning on the TV. The scene is a football stadium packed with people; a platform is in the middle of the field with dignitaries; there is an atmosphere of excitement. The announcer tells the audience that the guests to be honored will be arriving shortly, meanwhile he will interview the dignitaries and other guests who played a role in the lives of these honored mystery people. The persons who are interviewed are statesmen, scientists, writers and other specialists, winners of the Nobel prize in their fields. They speak of how they had devoted themselves to seeing that these mystery people would experience the highest honors and blessings in life, and their great satisfaction in life is for this time to come. The anticipation builds as each person is interviewed. The crowd breaks forth into chants calling for the mystery people to appear. Just then you are interrupted by a knock on the door. It’s the police. They ask you to come with them. They whisk you away with a caravan of escort motorcycles. “What is going on?” you wonder. You see the stadium. Are you going to get to take part somehow? Maybe have a front row seat? You get out; there is a small group of other bewildered people. You are led through a tunnel, then suddenly out onto the field and up to the platform. The crowd cheers. The dignitaries stand and bow to you. You are the honored people. All the preparations; all the work has been done for you.
This is what Peter is telling us. We read the stories of the OT saints, impressed with the great acts they accomplished and the miracles they experienced. “Oh that I could experience such things as they did.” They would have given their experience all away if they could have known what you know – the life and work of Jesus Christ. They would have thrown it all away if they could have experienced what you now experience – the grace of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ. Indeed, all that they experienced – the miracles, the visions, the prophecies – were for our benefit, to serve us.
But consider further how much more wondrous their prophecies and signs turned out to be. Could David had known when he wrote the Psalm of his anguish – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me – that he was writing the words of the Greater King David would utter in the hour of redemption? Was Isaiah baffled as he wrote of the child to be born who would be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace? Was he trembling while he wrote of this same child being the Suffering Servant who would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities?
Did the people who looked with hope for the Messiah understand that every animal they sacrificed for their sins were but symbols of the one sacrifice to be made for all sins? Did the prophets and the priests equate the Lion of Judah with the Lamb of God? Could any prophet envision how great the Messiah would truly be – the Incarnate Son of God, One with God in the mystery of the Trinity? Could any angel have figured that his birth and life would be so humble? Could anyone understand the cost of Redemption? Could anyone delve into such love of the Father and of the Son? Could anyone figure out the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Incarnation? Who knew of the Spirit regenerating the hearts of millions upon millions of unknown people speaking all variety of tongues, who never knew of these prophets, nor of their God?
I would charge you on this Lord's Day, the day Christians chose for worship in honor of Christ's resurrection; I charge you to remember that we have a greater thanksgiving to recall than Abraham, Moses, David, and all the people of God who experienced miracles. What is the great work that the psalms give praise to God for? It is the exodus from Egypt. That is the best work of deliverance they can come up with. Ours is the deliverance from the power of sin and death. What faithfulness do they exalt God for? For delivering them from their enemies. That's the best they can do. Ours is preserving us for eternal glory.
We have the redemption won for us – not by a Moses or a David – but by the Almighty Son of God. We have a redemption won for us not by the power of armies nor by the display of supernatural power – but by the sacrifice of the Lord of Glory, who gave his very life upon a cross. Who could have believed this?
And it is for us to know it, for us to believe it, for us to give thanks to God for such a Redemption. Let us not be guilty of having to turn to what is temporal, what is trite, even to what is false to make up for the boredom we may feel because Redemption loses its glamour and our hope of glory seems unreal. Many Christians are guilty of this. We look to signs and wonders because the sign of the cross and the wonder of the atonement and resurrection cannot stir our hearts. We demand to be taught what is practical for living a victorious life because the victory over sin's guilt and over death that Christ won just doesn't connect with what's going on. What has Jesus done for me lately? we want to know. What can the Holy Spirit do now to make me feel better? We have in our own way become like the Israelites who saw the plagues, walked through the Red Sea, followed the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire, and grew discontent with the time and troubles of their journey. Let us not be guilty of the same sin because we lacked imagination and the sense of awe for our God and his mighty works.
It is fitting for Christmas to follow Thanksgiving. For it causes us not to merely look back over the year and give thanks for daily blessings, as good and right as that is to do; but it turns our eyes to the One who is the greatest gift both in value and in wonder. Thanksgiving Day issues in the season of the greater Thanksgiving. Let us look with wonder and awe and joy to the story of Redemption as foretold by the prophets through the Holy Spirit; as reported by the apostles; as passed on from generation to generation through ministers given such a calling, as I, a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pass it on to you this day.
