Sermon & translation by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 24 May 2015
1:1 From Peter, Jesus Christ’s apostle.
To elect pilgrims scattered at Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1:2 according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father in the holiness of the Spirit
toward the goal of obedience and sprinkling of Jesus Christ’s blood,
grace and peace fulfilled in y’all.
1:3 Blessed is God, even the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, in accordance with His [having] a bunch of mercy,
re-birthed us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead
1:4 into an imperishable and undefiled
and unfading inheritance
which has been preserved in the heavens for y’all’s disposal -
1:5 y’all who are protected by God’s
power through faith
for the purpose of a prepared salvation to be revealed during the final time.
6 In this y’all are leaping for joy a little now
since it is vitally necessary to be grieved by various trials
7 so that the refining of y’all’s faith
– a bunch more valuable than gold which perishes though it is refined through fire–
might result in praise and glory and value during Jesus Christ’s unveiling.
8 Whom y’all love, not having seen,
and in whom y’all now trust while not seeing.
Y’all are jumping up and down with unutterable and glorified joy
9 while obtaining the goal of your faith: salvation of souls!
10 Concerning which salvation [the] prophets
who prophecied concerning grace [going] into y’all
sought out and searched out, 11 researching into
what - or what kind of - [appointed] time
the Spirit of Christ[1] in them was exhibiting
when He pre-testified
the sufferings [destined] for[2] Christ
and the glories after those [sufferings].
12 It was revealed to them that it was not to themselves but to y’all
that they were serving these things
which now are announced to y’all
through those who evangelized you
by the Holy Spirit commissioned out of heaven,
into which things angels are desiring to peer.
“Elizabeth Gibson stumbled upon a painting on the side of a Manhattan street. The painting was sitting there waiting to picked up by the garbage collectors. She liked the colors used in the painting but didn’t know anything about it. She took it home and researched it over the next few years. Turns out it was a lost masterpiece called “Tres Personajes” painted by a famous Mexican artist named Rufino Tamayo. The painting sold at auction for a cool $1 million.” (Source: PBS) How could anyone have left something that valuable in their garbage?
Today I want to address something which is far more valuable than a million dollar painting, but which we are all tempted to undervalue. Some people even decide to throw it away. And that is the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. I want to look at how much it has been valued by those who do not have the kind of access we have to the Gospel, and I want to consider how we can uphold the precious value of the Gospel in our lives so that we do not end up like that Manhattan resident who threw away a million dollar painting.
Over the last two sermons on verses 1-5 and 6-9, we have looked at how salvation through Jesus Christ’s blood and resurrection are a source of security and of great joy. Now, in this section, salvation is presented to us as a source of great curiosity, something to be studied in depth by men as well as angels and treasured!
· In verse nine of chapter one, Peter returns to the topic of salvation.
· “Salvation of souls,” it says, is “the τέλος/end/outcome/goal of faith.” Historically, people have taken this in two wrong directions:
1. The first is a selfish direction. We depart from God’s will when we think salvation is primarily about me and my needs.
o The word “your” (as in “your souls”) is not in the Greek text. It literally reads “salvation of souls.” I point that out because the goal of our faith is not merely the salvation of our own souls, but also the salvation of all the other souls which God has called us to communicate His good news to.
o The error of privatizing faith and withdrawing from the world has plagued the church throughout history.
§ We think of medieval monks who hid themselves away in desert caves,
§ but it still happens today when Christians “circle the wagons” and get off in their holy huddles at church and Christian schools and colleges and think-tanks and ministries and cut themselves off from engagement with non-Christians, engagement with civil government, and engagement with the arts and media.
§ (Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not condemning all Christian institutions, I’m just exhorting the ones which are tempted to get too insular from the world.)
o Biblical faith is a kingdom which is growing into all the world (Col. 1:6), intended to make disciples in every ethnic group (Mt. 28:19), the increase of which knows no end (Isa. 9:7).
2. On the opposite extreme is an interpretation of salvation merely in physical terms by those who have the vision for the worldwide growth of Christ’s kingdom, but have lost sight of the spiritual side of His salvation.
o This opposite extreme is the problem of Christians acting as secularists to improve the world politically, medically, economically, socially, and educationally without attention to spiritual needs. They depart from God’s will by framing salvation in terms of saving the world from sickness, poverty, ignorance, and oppression.
o Again, don’t get me wrong, these physical and social problems are worth fighting. Jesus affirmed that in His first coming as He taught and healed and confronted injustice – and He will do so again in His second coming, but here He says that ultimately, the salvation of souls is the goal.
o What is the ultimate threat against our souls? It is to be punished by God for our rebellions against Him.
o In the Bible, He has already given us a preview of His judgment that He is going to find every human on this earth guilty, (Romans 3:23)
o and in the Bible He has already told us what the punishment will be: everlasting death. This is what souls need to be saved from. Poverty and oppression and all those other physical and social problems all flow from this root problem. (Romans 6:23)
· Verse 8 tells us that “loving” and “trusting” Jesus Christ – even when we can’t see Him – is the nature of the faith which has as its goal the salvation of souls. This is entering into a right relationship with Jesus where we depend upon Him
o to make peace with God for us from the guilt of our rebellion
o and to free us from the control of sin
o and to lead us into alignment with God and his character and goals and actions
o which in turn brings healing and wisdom and justice and wealth.
o This is a more holistic view of the salvation of souls than that of the individualist evangelical or the liberal social activist.
· Verse 10 tells us more about this salvation, describing it literally as “Grace into you.”
o The Greek word for “grace” (karis) means something that is free of charge. Maybe you’ve heard the Latin term for it: “gratis.” The nature of God’s salvation of our souls is that it is a free gift.
o v.10 tells us that what saves souls is not us doing something to save ourselves, but us trusting Jesus to give us something. It is about “grace coming [or being given] to you.”
· But exactly how would it work? What exactly would the gift of salvation look like, and in what manner would this gift be given? That was not clearly revealed to the prophets who foretold its coming. They were “seeing through a glass darkly” on this matter. But it didn’t prevent them from trying to figure out as much as they could.
· Jesus also commented on this: “Many kings and prophets have desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them” (Matthew 13:17, Calvin).
· God had, in fact, encouraged them to do this very thing in Psalm 119:2, “Blessed are they that search out his testimonies: they will diligently seek him with the whole heart.” (Brenton)
· So they were ερευνῶντες = searching/researching/inquiring/seeking to know/trying to find out
o The Greek interrogatives in v.11 are interpreted by the KJV and NIV[3] as them seeking the exact vs. the approximate time of the Messiah, whereas the ESV and NASB interpret the interrogatives as trying to figure out not only the “when” but also “Who” the Messiah would be.
o In hindsight, we can look at Daniel’s 70 weeks[4] and say, “Look, it was laid out for them; why didn’t they see it? The number of days in seventy weeks is exactly the number of years between Daniel’s prophecy and the birth of Christ!” That certainly seems to be the case, and I suspect that the magi who were disciples of Daniel’s disciples were keeping track, and that’s why they came when they did at Jesus’ birth, but most people didn’t see it that clearly, which is the point of 1 Peter here.
o Prophecy reveals some things about the future, but not everything. If prophecy were crystal clear, then we would all agree on our eschatology, and I know for a fact that we don’t, so we can’t be too hard on the prophets and holy men and women of old if they didn’t understand everything. But that shouldn’t stop us from digging into it and trying to understand as much as we can.
· So I did a little searching of my own. What did God reveal about salvation through Jesus in the Old Testament? Here are all the passages I could find from the Septuagint Greek Old Testament where the Greek words for “grace,” “Christ,” “suffering,” and “glories” from 1 Peter 1:10-11 appear. I’m quoting from Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint and have underlined the words which occur in common:
o First are passages which speak of the “Christ/Messiah/Anointed one” suffering:
§ Daniel 9:26 “After 62 weeks the [Christ][5] will be cut off...”
§ Psalm 89:38 “...thou hast cast off and set at nought, thou has rejected thine anointed...”
o Next, some passages which speak of Christ becoming glorious[6]
§ Psalm 2:2-9 “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against his Christ... Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his fury. But I have been made king by him on Sion his holy mountain, declaring the ordinance of the Lord: the Lord said to me, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron...”
§ Psalm 21:5 “His glory is great in thy salvation: thou wilt crown him with glory and majesty.”
§ Psalm 112:9 “He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for evermore: his horn shall be exalted with [glory][7].”
§ The prophet Samuel’s mother, Hannah, prophecied in 1 Samuel 2:10 “The Lord has gone up to the heavens, and has thundered: he will judge the extremities of the earth, and he gives strength to our kings, and will exalt the horn of his Christ...”
§ Isaiah 22:22 [Speaking of Eliakim in the near future, but clearly with secondary fulfillment later in the person of Christ] “... I will give him the glory of David; and he shall rule, and there shall be none to speak against him: and I will give him the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and there shall be none to shut; and he shall shut, and there shall be none to open.”
§ Some of these prophecies may apply to more than just Jesus, but the prophets do carry a theme that the Messiah/Christ will experience glory and will exercise unchallenged authority.
o And there are even passages where God’s “grace” is extended to mankind:
§ Psalm 84:11 “...the Lord loves mercy and truth: God will give grace and glory: the Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocence.”
§ Zechariah 12:10 “...I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion...”
§ Isaiah 40:5 “And the glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God: for the Lord has spoken it.”
o There are still more Old Testament prophecies in which the key Greek words from 1 Peter do not occur, but the gist of the message is nevertheless the same, that the Messiah would suffer, then be glorified, and that God would give grace to more people[8]:
§ Isaiah 53:5-12 “But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we were healed... In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death... Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.”
§ and Malachi 3:1, which speaks of Jesus’ first coming and glorious second coming: “...the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the [messenger][9] of the covenant, whom ye take pleasure in: behold, he is coming, saith the Lord Almighty. And who will abide the day of his coming? or who will withstand at his appearing? for he is coming in as the fire of a furnace...” (Brenton)
· One thing to beware of, however, concerning this discipline of studying prophecy. It is possible to go overboard to the point that research into the information eclipses your love for God and your love for your neighbor.
o It can eclipse our love for God by distracting us with details and moving our attention away from Christ.
§ The purpose of prophecy however, is to bear witness of Jesus. Revelation 19:10c “...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” This is the whole purpose of prophecy, to draw our attention toward Christ.
§ That is why, when we read from the Old Testament we look in it for messages that have to do with Jesus.
§ Yet, when Nicodemus stuck up for Jesus in the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees used prophecy to turn him away from Christ. They said, “You need to do more Bible study. If you had, you would have known that no prophet has ever emerged from Galilee” (John 7:52, my paraphrase).
§ Jesus told the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40, NKJV)
§ If the study you are doing is making your love for Jesus grow cold, quit it! Drop that book or that Bible study and find a different way to study the Bible that makes your love for Jesus grow stronger!
§ When I was a college student, I did evangelism at the Chattanooga Flea Market on Sunday mornings before church. The only people at the market on Sunday morning in Chattanooga were Seventh Day Adventists and backslidden Baptists, I discovered. The backslidden Baptists were often willing to hear me share the Gospel, but the Adventists just wanted to tell me about what day of the week to worship and what the signs were of the second coming. They were not open to the Gospel. Their study of prophecy had distracted them from loving Jesus.
o Researching prophecy can also eclipse our love for our neighbor in much the same way.
§ My brother in Indiana once told me about a cult in his area that encouraged what they called “studying” to the point that the men in the church would literally come home from work, eat dinner, and then sequester themselves in their office for the rest of the evening and neglect their family. When you asked them to share their testimony, instead of telling you when they began to exercise faith in Jesus, they would tell you when the time was that they started “Studying.”
§ There’s an unhealthy extreme. That is the problem that the scribes of Jesus day had. They did things like counting how many times each word had occurred up to that point in their Bible reading and making little numbers in the margin of their Bibles to keep track, and counting how many coriander and dill seeds grew in their garden that year so they could tithe exactly a tenth of them, and they lost track of loving their neighbor.
§ Jesus rebuked them because they had totally neglected the “weightier matters of the law, namely justice, mercy, and faith” (Matt. 23:23).
§ Of course, if you hardly ever get a chance to read your Bible, then take more time with God’s word and say “No” to other things.
§ But there is a balance. If you have had an adequate morning devotional time, and somebody in your family stumbles out of bed and asks you for something, and, in your heart, you’d rather not help them but would rather ignore them and do more devotional reading, then you’ve crossed over that line.
§ Don’t let the study of God’s word distract you from loving your neighbor.
· It is the nature of God, and especially of the Holy Spirit to communicate to us using prophecy
o Consistently, throughout the Bible, people prophecied when the Holy Spirit rested upon them[10]. 2 Peter 1:21 states categorically that, “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (NASB).
o and the subject of prophecy was consistently the gospel, starting with the bad news that man had sinned against God and was liable to God’s punishment, followed by the good news that God is merciful and would send a savior to reconcile man with Himself. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Ephesians 3:1-6 “... when you read [the O.T.] you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel...” (NASB)
· We’ve seen the object of curiosity in v.9 is Salvation of souls, and in v.10-11 we’ve seen the research of the prophets and the limited insights they had into salvation, next in v.12 we see...
· Now, I recognize that the KJV says “to us” instead of “to y’all.” Most Greek New Testament scholars (including myself) agree that this was a typo in the Greek Textus Receptus that the King James was translated from. But don’t throw away your King James Bible, because they didn’t really change the meaning. The contrast is being made between people during the time of Christ and the prophets of the ages before Christ, so it doesn’t really matter whether the people during the time of Christ are called “you” or “us,” the point is that they received a fuller picture of salvation than the prophets before them.
· Clement of Alexandria[11], around the year 180 AD commented on this passage, “The old things which were done by the prophets and escape the observation of most, are now revealed to you by the evangelists. “For to you,” he says, (Matt. 1:12) “they are manifested by the Holy Ghost, who was sent;” that is the Paraclete, of whom the Lord said, “If I go not away, He will not come.” (John 16:7)
· The evangelists of the New Testament who saw the Messiah firsthand preached to their contemporaries and wrote the gospels and epistles for posterity so that the sufferings and glories of Christ which brought the grace of God to us are laid forth in detail, thus we understand more than any of the Old Testament prophets did about the details of God’s salvation.
o Jesus explained to the two men on the road to Emmaeus after His resurrection that, “‘all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’” (Lk. 24:44-47, NKJ)
o In Acts 3:18-26, Peter proclaimed, “...what God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN. HIM YOU SHALL HEAR IN ALL THINGS, WHATEVER HE SAYS TO YOU. AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERY SOUL WHO WILL NOT HEAR THAT PROPHET SHALL BE UTTERLY DESTROYED FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE.' Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days... God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” (NKJV, cf. Phil. 3:8-11, Heb. 2:9, 1 Peter 3:18)
o What was once obscure – what was once uncertain as to the timing, is now crystal clear. We know the time and place that Christ came on the scene of human history. We made that year zero on our date system so as never to forget it! Maybe it was a couple of years off, but it’s the thought that counts: About 2,015 years ago, Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, Israel, and thirty-three years later He died on a cross outside of Jerusalem, then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
§ Elijah would have given his right arm to find that kind of information out.
§ Jeremiah would have been willing to fast for 40 days to get it.
§ Zephaniah would have been willing to give up his house just to hear.
§ Do not for a minute think that just because you have heard this message every Sunday for umpteen years that it is somehow cheap, flimsy, or dispensable. That is Satanic deception. What you have is a valuable treasure, more valuable than a million dollar painting.
· v.12 tells us that your salvation is something “angels desire to peer/look into”
o The Greek verb parakupsai paints a picture of someone leaning through a window to look out of it, or through a doorway to look inside.
o This is the context of all five of the times that this verb is used in the Greek Old Testament[12], including the time that David’s wife Micael leaned out of the upstairs apartment window in the palace to look down into the street to watch the parade as her husband David led the ark of the covenant into the city of Jerusalem for the first time. Micael was an outsider to the parade physically – and spiritually too.
o This phrase paints a picture of angels as outsiders wanting to look into something that is beyond their experience.
o There has apparently been debate from the get-go as to what Peter meant here. Within 100 years of the writing of this epistle many people were saying that Peter was referring to demons being outside of salvation and longing for it, but around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote a commentary stating that it was “not the apostate angels, as most suspect, but angels who desire to obtain the advantage of that perfection... which is a divine truth.”
o Angels do not seem to be the object of God’s redemption like humans are. We do not see unclean spirits called to repentance, they are merely silenced and banished by Jesus. Likewise, we do not see angels confessing sins and asking forgiveness of God. And yet, in God’s providence, these created spiritual beings are allowed to interact with human beings.
o Angels are very interested in what God is doing with us, and they watch us[13]. For instance in 1 Corinthians 11:10, it says, “woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” (NKJV) What do the angels have to do with whether or not a woman wears a head-covering in worship? It is an outward demonstration to the angels of submission to proper authority.
o Would the angels and demons who are observing you right now be able to tell from your words and actions that you place a high value on God’s word or not?
· Hebrews 1:13-14 says, “But to which of the angels has He ever said: ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL’? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to [serve] those who will inherit salvation?” (NKJV)
o The Greek noun in Heb. 1 which describes what the angels do for us is from the same Greek verb in 1 Peter 1 which describes what the prophets were doing for us: it’s the root from which we get the English word “deacon” – those who perform acts of service for the church.
o All the great prophets like Moses and David and Isaiah – as well as the mighty angels of heaven – all have existed to serve you. You!
o Specifically to “serve up” the gospel to you. The object of the verb “serving/ministering” in the Greek text is the neuter plural “these things,”
§ which refers backward to “the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” in v.11
§ and refers forward to “what was announced/reported by the evangelists,” and to “what the angels want to peer into.”
§ The good news of Jesus’ atoning death for our sin and glorious resurrection applied to us is what the prophets of old served up to us, and it is what your contemporaries who shared the good news with you announced to you.
· What is remarkable is that there is any prophecy at all.
o No other world religion has a body of prophecy like Judeo-Christianity has.
o For there to be any accurate prediction of the future requires either knowledge of the future or ability to control the present to assure a future result – or both. And both are beyond human ability. Only an omniscient, omnipotent God can provide books of prophecy that are accurate, and that is what our God has done.
o We have in our Bibles a whole section with the 5 “Major” prophets and the 12 so-called Minor Prophets, but practically all the other books in the Bible also have some prophecy in them.
o And, unlike the prophecies of Buddhism, Islam, Nostradamus, Mormonism, 7th Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Harold Camping, and every other cult leader, not a single Bible prophecy has proved false. When you see the Bible predicting events accurately hundreds of years before they happen,
§ such as the release of the Jews from exile by a king named Cyrus or that Jesus would be born of a virgin and then be whipped and spat upon and killed as a criminal, then buried in a rich man’s grave (as Isaiah did)
§ or David’s prediction hundreds of years before crucifixion was invented that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced while His enemies gambled over his clothes, (Psalm 22)
§ or Zechariah’s prediction (11:13) that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver which would later be spent to purchase a potter’s field,
§ or Micah’s prediction that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and hundreds of other Messianic prophecies which were fulfilled perfectly,
§ any reasonable person has to sit up and take notice of Christianity. This is no common religion. It is totally unique. The God of the Bible knows the future and controls the present; this is the God above all gods to follow.
· John Calvin commented on this passage by saying that “more has been given to us than to the ancient fathers, in order to amplify by this comparison the grace of the gospel.” How can we take that ball and run with it, “amplifying” the grace of the gospel?
1. One way we can do it is by following in the footsteps of the evangelists whom Peter mentioned and share this good news with other people.
o Let me continue quoting Calvin, “though the prophets were admonished from above that the grace which they proclaimed would be deferred to another age, yet they were not slothful in proclaiming it, so far were they from being broken down with weariness. But if their patience was so great, surely we shall be twice and thrice ungrateful, if the fruition of the grace denied to them will not sustain us under all the evils which are to be endured [in proclaiming it ourselves].” Let us demonstrate that this news is precious by showing it off to others and sharing it!
o One way to do that might be simply to share about an Old Testament prophecy and how Jesus fulfilled it.
2. Secondly, we can learn more about salvation for ourselves.
o Just as the prophets of old had a limited knowledge about God’s salvation and researched the Old Testament to find out more, we ourselves, although we have significant additional revelation in the New Testament, nevertheless do not understand everything. There is more to be revealed about the glories of heaven, of which we know precious little. Why not seek to know more?
o It is honoring to God to show enthusiasm for His word and to study it to learn more. He may respond by letting you know that He wants to keep some things a secret, but He will respond, just as He did to the prophets of old, to help their understanding along, even if all you discover is that you are helping someone else’s faith along.[14]
3. Third, press into the acceptance of this marvelous salvation and into trust in Jesus.
o Hebrews 2:1-4 admonishes us, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”
o This salvation is so valuable, it is criminal to neglect it. It is something to be remembered, thought about, treasured in your heart, and used as a basis for building the culture of your home and work environment and community values.
· It seems to be a theme throughout scripture that the faith of outsiders in God’s salvation turns social norms inside out:
o The faith of Rahab and Ruth turned Gentiles into ancestors of Jesus Christ,
o the faith of the queen of Sheba convicts Jewish priests inside the very temple of God of hypocrisy (Mt. 12:42),
o and the faith of those who have never seen Jesus in the flesh turns even the angels of heaven into outsiders peering in at the wonders of salvation.
o Let your delight in Jesus’ salvation turn the prophets and angels green with envy!
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9 κομιζόμενοι PMP-NPM τὸ τέλος τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, σωτηρίαν ψυχῶν. |
9 while obtaining the goal of your faith: salvation of souls! |
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. |
9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. |
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of [your] souls. |
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of [your] souls. |
9 |
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10 Περὶ ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν AAI-3P καὶ εξηρευνησαν[15] AAI-3P προφῆται οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς χάριτος προφητεύσαντες, AAP-NPM |
10 Concerning which salvation [the] prophets who prophecied concerning grace [going] into y’all sought out and searched out |
10 Of which salvation [the] prophets [have] enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of [the] grace that should come unto you: |
10 Of this salvation [the] prophets [have] inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of [the] grace that would come to you, |
10 Concerning this salvation, [the] prophets who prophesied about [the] grace [that was to be] yours searched and inquired carefully, |
10 As to this salvation, [the] prophets who prophesied of [the] grace [that] would come to you made careful search[es] and X inquir[ies], |
10 Concerning this salvation, [the] prophets,
who |
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11 ερευνῶντες PAP-NPM εἰς τίνα ἢ ποῖον[16] καιρὸν ἐδήλου I[17]AI-3S τὸ[18] ἐν αὐτοῖς Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ προμαρτυρόμενον[19] PNP-NSN τὰ εἰς Χριστὸν παθήματα καὶ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας[20]· |
11 researching into what - or what kind of - [appointed] time the Spirit of Christ in them was exhibiting when He pre-testified the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories after those [sufferings]. |
11 Searching X what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ [which was] in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the gloryX [that should] follow X. |
11 searching X 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 X. |
11 inquiring X what [person] or X time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories X. |
11 seeking [to know] X what [person] or X time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories [to] follow X. |
11 |
|
12 οἷς ἀπεκαλύφθη API-3S ὅτι οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς, ὑμῖν[21] δὲ διηκόνουν IAI-3P αὐτά, ἃ νῦν ἀνηγγέλη API-3S ὑμῖν διὰ τῶν εὐαγγελισαμένων AMP-GPM ὑμᾶς ἐν[22] Πνεύματι ῾Αγίῳ ἀποσταλέντι APP-DSN ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ, εἰς ἃ ἐπιθυμοῦσιν PAI ἄγγελοι παρακύψαι AAN. |
12 It was revealed to them that not to them but to y’all were they serving these things which now are announced to y’all through those who evangelized you by the Holy Spirit commissioned out of heaven, into which things angels are desiring to peer. |
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent [down] from heaven; which things [the] angels desire to look into. |
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. |
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. |
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, [in] these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look. |
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, [when they spoke of] the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. [Even] angels long to look into these things. |
[1] This, by the way is potent evidence of Christ’s divinity (for the “Spirit of God” is the same as the “Spirit of Christ”), and this includes His pre-incarnate existence (otherwise the prophets could not be inspired by the “Spirit of Christ”).
[2] This is ATR’s translation (cf. JFB “[appointed] unto Christ”), and he rightly points out the striking parallel between the suffering eis Christ here and the grace eis the church in v.10.
[3] As well as by Calvin, M. Henry, JFB, ATR, G. Clark, and myself.
[4] Dan. 9:25-26
[5] Brenton’s translation for christos here was "Messiah"
[6] Part of the temptation of Christ (Matt. 4:9) was the prospect of glory without first suffering. The order of these events is important!
[7] Brenton’s translation for doxa here was "honour"
[8] This, by the way, is potent evidence against the error of dispensationalism. John Calvin wrote, “This passage has been strangely perverted by fanatics, so as to exclude the fathers who lived under the law from the hope of eternal salvation... [W]hat is preached to us respecting salvation, cannot be suspected of any novelty, for the Spirit had formerly testified of it by the prophets...”
[9] Brenton’s translation here was "angel"
[10] Numbers 11:25 NASB “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied...” cf. Eldad & Medad (Numbers 11:26), Saul (1 Samuel 10:6 & 10), Samuel (1 Samuel 19:20-23), Elijah & Elisha (2 Kings 2:15), Isaiah (Acts 28:25), Zacharias (Luke 1:67), the church in Ephesus (Acts 19:6), the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12:10 & 14:1), John the Revelator (Rev. 1:10, 19:10).
[11] I am quoting from Shaff’s Ante-Nicene Fathers. You can see an image of Clement at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clement_alexandrin.jpg#/media/File:Clement_alexandrin.jpg
[12] Genesis 26:8; 1 Kings 6:4; 1 Chronicles 15:29; Proverbs 7:6; Song of Solomon 2:9, cf. all NT uses: Luke 24:12; John 20:5,11; James 1:25; 1 Peter 1:12;
[13] JFB & M. Henry also point out that this is their representative posture in the O.T. as well: figures of the cherubim were fashioned leaning over and looking at the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Calvin suggested that angelic interest is not the curiosity of outsiders: “Peter only means that such things are promised to us as angels desire to see fulfilled.”
[14] This application came mostly from Matthew Henry.
[15] This verb shows up 16 times in the Greek O.T. (where it is consistently spelled exereu-), but this is the only place in the NT. Here, the Alexandrian text employs a variant spelling (ἐξηραύνησαν) which departs from the spelling of the Greek root by one vowel, but appears to be intended to be the same word with the same parsing as the majority text. Since neither Nestle-Aland nor the UBS bothered to give their textual support in their critical apparati, I am going with the Majority spelling. The same goes for the first word in the following verse.
[16] This combination of interrogatives seems to be a Hebraism not carried over into the Septuagint. It is also found in Matthew 21:23; Mark 11:28; Luke 20:2; Acts 7:49.
[17] Vincent rightly commented that the Imperfect tense here indicates continuous action in past time, “was declaring, all along through the prophetic age, in successive prophets.”
[18] There are a significant number of manuscripts which append the definite article to to the end of the verb edηlou, but that creates a nonsense word in Greek.
[19] This is the only instance of this word in the Greek Bible.
[20] JFB: “‘glories,’ namely, of His resurrection, of His ascension, of His judgment and coming kingdom, the necessary consequence of the sufferings.”
[21] The Textus Receptus departs from the Majority of Greek manuscripts with the first plural pronoun ημιν instead of the second plural “to y’all.” Thus the KJV reads “unto us.” This doesn’t change the gist, however, since both the “we” who wrote the letter and the “y’all” who received the epistle were contemporaries, and the contrast is being made between people of the time of Christ with the prophets of the ages before Christ.
[22] Since P72, A, B, Psi, and a handful of minuscules and Latin versions omitted this preposition, Westcott omitted it from his critical text, but it doesn’t make a difference because the dative case of Pneumati indicates an instrumental preposition anyway.