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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
September 11, 2022
The Anticipation of the Prophets
1 Peter 1:10-12
Introduction
Turn again to 1 Peter 1. We will be examining verses 10-12 this morning, but in order to set the context, I will begin by reading this section starting in verse 1. Last week I read it in Young’s Literal Translation. This morning I will read it in the ESV which does a very good job of translating this into understandable English.
1 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.
This Salvation – 1 Peter 1:10
Verse 10 begins, “As to this salvation,” which points back to the previous 9 verses in which Peter has discussed the means and nature of this salvation. I discussed salvation, swthriva / sōtāria, last week, but I want to remind you quickly this morning that the word describes rescue from danger to a place of safety. The salvation referred to here is the rescue of the soul from sin and its consequences to the safety of a living hope in God’s forgiveness and adoption into His family to receive an incredible inheritance in heaven.
The means of salvation involves the work of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and response of faith of the individual. Individuals are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit and the sacrificial death of Jesus whose blood cleanses those who respond in the obedience of faith (vs. 1-2). (See: To The Chosen). It was by the Father’s great mercy that He caused sinners dead in their trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1) to be born again to spiritual life that by faith in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead have a confident assurance for the future that transcends life on this earth (vs 3). The inheritance God has promised believers that we will receive in a future heaven is far beyond anything on this earth for it defies the laws of physics that apply here. It is an inheritance that it is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. Everything on this earth is polluted by the curse of sin so that it decays, rusts, and breaks down and will eventually fade away (vs. 4) for the present heavens and earth will be destroyed by fire which will then be replaced by “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). This future incredible inheritance is guarded by God Himself so nothing can even threaten it much less take it away. (See: Born Again to Living Hope).
No wonder then that Peter could point to this salvation as the reason that they could greatly rejoice even though they were currently distressed due to the various trials they were experiencing (vs. 6). He reminded them that the fire that was testing their faith was proving it to be genuine and more precious and valuable than even pure gold and would result in praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus when He returned (vs. 7). Their love for and belief in Jesus was not based in their experiences for they had never seen Jesus (vs. 8). It was a response of hearing the good news about the love of Jesus demonstrated in His sacrifice of Himself to redeem sinners and reconcile them to God the Father. They believed the message and came to love Jesus because He first loved them (vs. 9; 1 John 4:19). The outcome of their faith in what God had done was the salvation of their souls. That is the “this salvation” of verse 10. (See: Rejoicing Though Distressed) .
Prophecies of God’s Grace – 1 Peter 1:10
Peter then goes on to point out that this salvation was foretold long before and that the prophets sought to understand this salvation that they had prophesied. Peter refers to it here as “the grace that would come . . .” These prophecies concerning God’s grace and the interest in them is premised on the fact that man deserves death and eternal punishment due to his sin against God so it would take the grace of God to provide such salvation.
Man’s sin is obvious to everyone without even having to look for it. Though people often find ways to excuse their own sins so that they foolishly think they are good, the fact that they complain about the wrong things other people do is a finger pointing back at themselves. Paul points this out in Romans 2:1–3, 1 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” You may not be a bank robber, but taking anything that does not belong to you without permission of the owner is stealing, and thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10). You do not have to perjure yourself in a courtroom to be a confirmed liar. People do that naturally, and no liar will be in heaven (Rev. 21:8). Jesus taught in Matthew 5:28 that lusting after a woman is committing adultery in your heart for which you will be judged by God (Heb. 13:4). Jesus taught in Matthew 5:21-22 that anger and calling someone a fool makes you guilty before the court and liable for eternal punishment in hell as if you physically murdered someone. God’s standard of righteousness is perfection, and no one can meet that standard on his own. That is why all of mankind is in desperate need of God’s grace.
God’s grace and salvation are common themes throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Salvation arises from God’s grace for grace is a term with a broader meaning which includes the motives behind the acts of God’s grace and mercy such as salvation. Salvation is often used in a broad sense as in references to rescue from oppression and physical harm as in the many prophecies dealing with God’s restoration of the people after repentance (Deuteronomy 30:1-6; Psalm 14:7; etc.) or in protecting His people from threatened harm (Psalm 9; Isaiah 3; Micah 7:7; etc.). It is also often used in a narrow sense in references to salvation of the soul (Job 13:16; Psalm 24:5; Isaiah 51:5-8; Zech. 9:9; etc.). It is used in this more narrow sense here in 1 Peter 1:10.
Prophecies concerning God’s grace to provide salvation to sinful man begins in Genesis 3:15 in the promise God made in the midst of cursing the serpent for his part in bringing about the fall of man, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” That is the first prophesy of a redeemer to come, someone that would be the “seed of a woman” – a reference to a virgin birth – that would crush the serpent’s head – a reference to having victory over Satan. Eve was excited at the birth of the first human child ever, Cain, stating that she had “gotten a manchild with the help of Yahweh.” There would have been initial hope that he may have been this promised redeemer, but Cain was evil and murdered his brother. The line of hope would go through a later son named Seth.
Though the sin of mankind had become so great ten generations later that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5), Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was told what to do to preserve life on the earth from the flood (Gen. 6:8-22). God chose Abraham and extended to him a unilateral covenant which included blessing all the families of the earth through him, a reference to the future Messiah (Genesis 12:3). That same blessing was then extended to his son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob (Genesis 26:4; 28:14; Numbers 24:17). In Deuteronomy 18:18 Moses prophesied of another prophet to come that would be like him in Yahweh putting His words in his mouth and speaking all He commanded. The apostle Peter specifically references this in his sermon in Acts 2:20-22 as being fulfilled in Jesus. The line of Messiah would then go through Judah (Genesis 49:10) and to his descendant, David, son of Jesse (2 Samuel 7:12, 16f; Isaiah 9:7).
Daniel was given a vision of the God of heaven setting up a kingdom that would never be destroyed or left to another people (Daniel 2:44). That matches Isaiah’s prophecy about Messiah in Isaiah 9:6-7, 6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” In Isaiah 45:20-25 Yahweh warns idolaters and then declares Himself and His grace saying, ” 23 . . . And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. 22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.” And in Luke 4:18 Jesus quotes in Isaiah 61:1-2, 1 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord,” and then states, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (vs. 21). These are just some of the prophecies concerning God’s grace.
The promise made all the way back in Genesis 3:15 would eventually be fulfilled through the virgin Mary, a descendant of David, who found favor with God and became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and bore Jesus, the promised Messiah (Luke 1:30-38; 2:7-11). Jesus is the only person born without a human father. As noted in Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.” Mary’s praise to God in Luke 1:46-55 is about God’s mercy to men –“And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.” Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s grace in saving men.
There is an interesting parallel here in the prophets of old making careful search and inquiry regarding this salvation and what Peter had just commended those to whom he was writing about loving and believing in Jesus though they had not seen Him. Though these prophets foretold of God’s grace to come and salvation in Messiah, they also did not see Jesus. Hebrews 11:39–40 comments about them in regard to this, 39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” There are very, very few people that have ever lived that had the privilege of seeing Jesus in the few years that He walked on this earth, and of those, only a small percentage believed in Him. What Jesus taught was hard to accept because it required the humility to heed the rebuke for sin and turn away from it to Him. He had come to His own, but they did not receive Him (John 1:11). He was the Light of the world, but those who love evil hate the Light and will not come to Him because they do not want their evil deeds exposed (John 3:19-20). Both before Jesus’ advent and after His ascension people have come to know and love Christ because they heard His word preached, the gospel, and have believed to call upon Him (Romans 10:9-17).
The Search of the Prophets – 1 Peter 1:10-11
The verse continues on to state that the prophets “made careful searches and inquiries” in regard to God’s grace and this salvation and “seeking to know what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating . . .” The meaning of the word translated here as “made careful searches,” ejkzhtevw / ekzāteō, is “to exert considerable effort and care in learning something.” It is used in Acts 15:17; Romans 3:11 and Hebrews 11:6 for seeking God, and in Hebrews 12:17 for godless Esau who when he finally did desire “to inherit the blessing, was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” The word, inquiries, ejxereunavw / exereunaō, is only used in the NT in this verse and it is an intensified form of its root word which means “to search after.” It was first used of animals that would “sniff out” with its nose. This is a diligent search. Both words are plural indicating that this was something that they did multiple times.
There are two good examples of this in Daniel 9, 10-11. In the first Daniel had been reading in the prophet Jeremiah about the number of years for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, and realizing the seventy years were nearly complete, he gave his “attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:2-3). God then sent Gabriel to him to give him understanding and the prophecies recorded in Daniel 9:24-27. In the second example, Daniel recounts that he had spent three entire weeks mourning and fasting from any tasty food, any meat, any wine or using any ointment as part of his quest to understand the vision that had been given to him (Daniel 10). An angel then appeared to him and explained that he had been hindered by a demon for 21 days until Michael the archangel helped him. He was there to explain the vision about the future to Daniel which he does in chapter 11.
If the prophets who had the Spirit of Christ within them had to make such diligent searches of prophecy to understand them, then it is no surprise that we also must be diligent in our own inquiries into the Scriptures. Paul admonishes us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth,” and the Bereans demonstrated themselves to be more noble by their examination of the Scriptures to see if what Paul was telling them was true (Acts 17:11). However, be careful that your study of the Scriptures is for the correct purpose. Jesus warned the Jews in John 5:39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; but you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” Paul’s comment in 1 Corinthians 8:1 that “knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies” applies to this. Studying the Scriptures to increase your knowledge without applying the message in them to your own life will make you arrogant and bring God’s condemnation.
What the prophets were seeking to know was what (tivna / tina) and what manner of time (h: poi:on kairo;n/ ā poin kairon). This would be the what and when. They already knew that the who was Messiah, and the timing and circumstances would identify Him. Even in Matthew 11:1-6 when John the Baptist sent to find out if Jesus was the expected one or should they look for another, Jesus answered by pointing out that He was doing what was prophesied of Messiah in healing the deaf, the blind, the lame and the lepers and preaching the gospel to the poor. The same continues to be true in relationship to prophecies about things that are still to come in future. That has become something of great interest in the present time as news headlines match things we expect to be fulfilled in prophecy.
Peter also states that these prophecies came according to the “Spirit of Christ within them.” This is an important point to note since it moves prophecy out of the realm of human wisdom and speculation and into revelations from God Himself and therefore interpretation of them must match what God has revealed. Peter put it this way in 2 Peter 1:20–21, 20 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” According to Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, unless a prophet was one hundred percent (100%) accurate, they were false prophets and were to be put to death. Interpreting a Scripture contrary to what God has revealed in the rest of Scripture is aberrant at best and easily leads to heresy.
Predictions of Suffering & Glory – 1 Peter 1:11
A particular interest in their search of the prophecies was what the Spirit was indicating in the predictions about both the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. Note that both words are plural. There are multiple sufferings and multiple glories. There are many passages that deal with one or the other or both.
Psalm 22 contains a description of the crucifixion including that Messiah would have his hands and feet pierced, that His bones could be counted and that His garments would be divided by casting lots for them (vs. 16-18; See John 19:24, 37). He would bear the reproach of men that would sneer at Him and wag there heads saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him” (See Matthew 27:39-43). He would cry out “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” (See Matthew 27:46). The prophecy in Daniel 9:26 includes Messiah being cut off. Zechariah 12:10 also predicts the Messiah being pierced, and 13:10 predicts Messiah the Shepherd being struck and the sheep being scattered. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the most comprehensive description of the sufferings of Messiah. His appearance would be marred, He would be despised and forsaken, scourged and pierced, oppressed and afflicted, cut off from the land of the living and have His grave assigned with wicked men yet buried in a rich man’s tomb. It also describes the Messiah’s righteous response to all the suffering and injustices and His purpose in the suffering in bearing the redemption price of man’s sin. The prophecy is so accurate to what happened to Jesus that most Jews are ignorant of or refuse to read the passage.
Prophecy also predicted the glories of Messiah that would follow His suffering. Even Isaiah 53 ends with God rewarding Messiah, the Righteous One, for His bearing the iniquities of sinners to justify them. Messiah is allotted a portion with the great and to divide the booty with the strong (vs. 12). I already pointed out the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7 that Messiah would be on the throne of David upholding righteousness and justice forevermore. Prophecies such as Daniel 2:44 & 7:13-14 also speak of a future eternal glorious kingdom that cannot be destroyed. Zechariah 2:10-13 & 14:16-17 describe a kingdom in which Yahweh dwells with His people, and Joel 3:18-20 describes it as a kingdom of abundance with Judah and Jerusalem inhabited forever. Amos 9:13-15 describes it as so abundant that the “plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows; when the mountains will drip sweet wine.”
It was the contrast between these prophecies predicting the suffering of Messiah and the glories that would be associated with Him that confused even the disciples. They could not reconcile in their minds Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53 with prophecies of a future glorious kingdom ruled by Messiah. Jesus told them several times on their way to Jerusalem that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised upon the third day,” yet they did not understand what that meant (Luke 9:22; 44-45, 13:33; 17:25; 18:31-34). When Jesus was walking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and they did not recognize Him, they spoke about their confusion about Jesus’ death and the reports of His resurrection which they did not yet believe. Luke 24:25–27 then records, 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. If that was true for the disciples that walked with Jesus, then we should not be surprised that it is still confusing to people to this day.
There is more that we could add about the glories to come from what was said by Jesus and the apostles, but Peter was not referring to them in this passage. The gospel accounts, James and Paul’s earlier letters would have been written by this time, but not those of Jude and John. It would be another 25 years or so before Revelation would be written. Those are writings for us to include in our own studies of future prophecies and their descriptions of heaven and the glory that will be given to Jesus Christ including “that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:10–11. However, Peter’s point here is not the prophecies themselves so much as the response of the prophets themselves otherwise he could have easily expanded on them as he does in his second letter.
Peter is seeking to encourage a suffering church to have hope and stand firm in the grace of God in the midst of the trials. Pointing to the response of these prophets is a way to do that. The prophets set an example of diligence to understand God’s revelation and they would need to follow that example. So do we. Figuring out God’s future plans helps to stand firm in the circumstances you find yourself as the fulfillment of those prophecies unfold. Peter next points out the unselfish nature of these prophets.
Serving Others – 1 Peter 1:12
Peter states in verse 12 that “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 . . .” The interest of the prophets in what they and others had prophesied was not self serving though they certainly would have a very great personal interest in understanding them. It had been revealed to them that God had a purpose far beyond themselves in the prophecies He had given them. They were serving future generations. Several passages indicate this though at what particular point they understood this truth would have varied. Those that had prophecies that were obviously far in the future would have understood at the time if was for future generations. Moses’ prophecies concerning each of the tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 33 would be an example of that. The same would be true for the visions and interpretations Daniel received. If the prophecy had both a near and future fulfillment such as Isaiah 7, that may not have been as obvious, but even then the prophet would have understood they were serving those to whom they were preaching. Hebrews 11:13 summarizes those mentioned in the hall of faith saying, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”
Preachers of the Gospel – 1 Peter 1:12
The prophecies concerning the suffering and glories of Christ were especially for those to whom Peter was writing for they were the context of the gospel that had been preached to them by those the Holy Spirit had sent. The good news of salvation from sin through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ is a New Testament message because Jesus’ incarnation, sinless life, death as the atonement for man’s sin, resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven all take place in the New Testament. However, all of that is in fulfillment of the Hebrew prophecies. The gospel ties both testaments together into an unbreakable unity. The future fulfillment of prophecies in the end times strengthens that unity. The importance of these ties is seen in the actions of the Bereans. They listened to what Paul had to say in preaching the gospel, but they then carefully searched the Scriptures – the Hebrew prophets – to see if Paul’s message matched. If Jesus did not fulfill the prophecies concerning the Messiah, then they would have had to reject Paul’s gospel as false. It is only because it did match that they could trust he was telling the truth and believe.
Frankly, nothing has changed since then, though it seems people are ever more willing to believe a story that fits what they would like to believe without the evidence it is true. That is why there are so many false religions and cults and also why so many professing Christians can so easily be led astray. However, this is not a new problem for Paul and the other writers of the epistles were battling this within a short time period from when the gospel was first declared. This is one of the reasons Peter ties the preaching of the gospel to the Holy Spirit sent from heaven for that is a contrast to those proclaiming a message and espousing a philosophy whose origins are in man or a demon. That is as an important point today as it was then. Make sure you know the Scriptures – Old & New Testament – so that you will be able to discern truth from error. Be wary of those using psychological techniques to get people to respond to their message. True salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit convicting, regenerating and converting a soul so that a sinner dead in trespasses and sin and an enemy of God is forgiven, cleansed and adopted into God’s family. Use of psychological manipulation or marketing techniques is contrary to the work of the Holy Spirit in the gospel.
The Longing of Angels – 1 Peter 1:12
Paul ends this passage by pointing out something surprising and remarkable. These are “things into which angels long to look.” The “things” refer to the gospel and the fulfillment of prophecy. Angels are spiritual beings created by God as His messengers and servants. One third of the angels followed Satan’s rebellion against God and are now called demons. Their rebellion has condemned them and they have no hope of redemption and reconciliation with God. The righteous angels have no need for salvation and yet they are fascinated by God’s work of redemption. The phrase “long to look” is ejpiqumia / epithumia, which means strong desire, is joined with parakuvptw / parakuptō , which means to “gaze with an out stretched neck” or “to stoop and look into.” The same word is used for John looking into Jesus’ tomb in John 20:5. The word signifies making a considerable effort to try and find out something, to learn.
Why should angels have such an interest? They have been involved in God’s redemption plan from the beginning. The angel Gabriel made the announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. Angels ministered to Jesus when He was tested by the devil. Angels announced Jesus’ resurrection to the women at the tomb. An angel announced Jesus’ promised return at His ascension. Angels rejoice at the salvation of a sinner. God has given them responsibilities in ministering to believers, and they have been witnesses of the preaching of the gospel and its effects
“so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places”
(Ephesians 3:10). Angels long to look into everything concerning the gospel because it enables them to better fulfill their purpose of existence in giving glory to God. A glimpse of that is seen in Revelation 5 when the 24 elders sing a new song of praise to God for the salvation of men who make up a kingdom of priests to God and will reign on the earth. Myriads and myriads of angels join in the praise of the four living creatures and the 24 elders saying, “Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
The trials that Christians face can test our faith and cause distress, yet the greatness of God’s grace that has brought the gospel and salvation encourages us to stand firm in a living hope for an incredible inheritance in heaven that is part of that gospel message prophesied long ago and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Angels will join us in giving praise to God for this salvation.
Sermon Notes – September 11, 2022
The Anticipation of the Prophets –
1 Peter 1:10-12
Introduction
This Salvation – 1 Peter 1:10
Prophecies of God’s Grace – 1 Peter 1:10
The Search of the Prophets – 1 Peter 1:10-11
Predictions of Suffering & Glory – 1 Peter 1:11
Serving Others – 1 Peter 1:12
Preachers of the Gospel – 1 Peter 1:12
The Longing of Angels – 1 Peter 1:12
Conclusions
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help.
Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times prophets or prophecy is mentioned. Talk with your parents about why fulfillment of prophecy gives confidence that the Bible is true.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What is being referred to by “this salvation” in 1 Peter 1:10? Has your understanding of salvation grown by the study of 1 Peter 1:1-9? If so, how so? Why is mankind in need of God’s grace? List some prophecies of God’s general grace to mankind or to Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures. List some prophecies of God’s grace specifically related to salvation from sin. List some prophecies specifically related to God’s grace in the promise of a coming Messiah. What is the parallel between the prophets making careful search in inquiries regarding the prophecies and those to whom Peter was writing that loved and believe in Jesus without seeing Him? What is the origin of faith? Give some examples of prophets making careful search in inquiry into the prophecies given to them. What were the prophets seeking to know? What was that important? What is the origin of those prophecies? Why is that important? List some of the prophecies that predicted that the Messiah would suffer. List some of the prophecies that describe the glories that were to come to or because of Messiah. Why were the disciples confused about Jesus’ predictions of His suffering, crucifixion and resurrection when He got to Jerusalem? How did the prophets serve others of a different time period? What indicates they knew this? How does the preaching of the gospel tie together both the Old & New Testaments? Why would the angels have such a desire to know about the gospel and its application to men? How diligent are you in trying to understand the Scriptures? If that needs to improve, write out a plan to make it happen and share it with someone that can encourage you and hold you accountable to do it.
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