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1 Peter 1, and I'll read verses 
3 through 12. 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 12. 
I'd like to again extend greetings from Trinity Reformed Baptist 
Church of Kirkland and extend my hearty thanks for your warm 
welcome. pun intended. We don't get heat like this in 
the Pacific Northwest very often, but when we do, we like to complain 
about it, I suppose. But be that as it may, thank 
you for having me and my family here. We are delighted to worship 
with you and to enjoy fellowship with you together in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Again, 1 Peter chapter three, 
or excuse me, 1 Peter chapter one and verses three through 
12. And this evening we'll focus 
specifically on verses eight and nine. This is the reading 
of God's word. Blessed be the God and father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy, 
begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ from the dead. unto an inheritance incorruptible 
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven 
for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith 
unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein 
ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, 
ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, that the proof 
of your faith being more precious than gold that perisheth, though 
it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and 
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom not having seen, 
ye love. on whom, though now ye see him 
not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the 
salvation of your souls. concerning which salvation the 
prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of 
the grace that should come unto you, searching what time or what 
manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did 
point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of 
Christ and the glories that should follow them, to whom it was revealed 
that not unto themselves, but unto you did they minister these 
things. which now have been announced 
unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy 
Spirit sent forth from heaven, which things angels desire to 
look into. May God add his blessing to the 
reading of his holy word. Let us again bow before the Lord, 
our God, seeking his blessing upon his word. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, Your Word 
is a light unto our feet. Your Word is a lamp. Your Word 
illumines all that we need to know. It gives to us truth, and 
we are grateful for this Word. We pray indeed that Your Spirit 
would work through the Word to bring us to life, to bring light 
to our darkened minds. Grant us, we pray, that we might 
know the mind of Christ as it is made known in your word. We 
pray in his name, amen. We sang from Psalm 11. The very last verse tells us 
that the upright shall behold his face. The hope of the Christian, 
your hope, if you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, is 
that you will one day behold the face of your God. More specifically, your hope 
is that you will be made like unto Jesus Christ, body and soul, 
and then you will see Christ. You will stand before Him face 
to face. True Christian hope, then, is 
the sight of the Savior. Now that's something that lies 
in the future, though. That's something that is still 
ahead of us at the consummation, at our Savior's return when He 
ushers in the new heavens and the new earth. But that does 
not mean that we as Christians are presently now, as we wait 
for that day, it does not mean that we are bereft of hope. It does not mean that we are 
devoid of the sight salvation. In 1st Peter chapter 1 and verses 
8 and 9, the Apostle Peter speaks of just these realities. He reminds us that even though 
we at present do not behold our Savior with our eyes. We do not 
behold him with the eyes of our glorified body. We do not behold 
him even yet with our glorified intellect. Even though that is 
true, we do know something now of the sight of salvation. We know something of the sight 
of salvation by way of faith. And such is that faith that it 
breeds within us, it gives rise within us to love for Christ. It even enables us presently 
to enjoy Christ and to enjoy that salvation which Christ has 
purchased for us. All of this, even though we do 
not at present lay hold of our Savior by way of sight. Peter has declared to us in this 
context that by virtue of Christ's resurrection. Our heavenly Father 
begat us again unto a living hope, and He has made us heirs 
of the inheritance of salvation. Verses three and four. Peter also goes on to tell us 
that our God keeps the inheritance for us, and He keeps us for the 
inheritance. The inheritance is reserved in 
heaven for us, And so we ourselves as well are preserved to receive 
that inheritance at the revelation of Christ. And it is because 
of all of this, that is, it is because of this salvation that 
is ours, this inheritance that is ours, that we rejoice even 
now as we presently endure manifold trials. Peter says we rejoice 
in this, that we possess the sure and the certain hope of 
salvation. Now, having made this point succinctly 
and sufficiently, Peter goes on in verses six and seven to 
contend that the spiritual refinement of faith by trial is no obstacle 
to joy in Christ. In fact, he tells us, if affliction 
should come upon us in God's wise providence, that affliction 
will work in such a way as to prove our faith. as to demonstrate that it is, 
in fact, genuine. And it will show, in fact, that 
our faith is of more worth than all the riches of this world, 
and that our faith is, in fact, unto the praise and the glory 
and the honor of our Savior upon His return. Now running throughout 
all of this instruction thus far in his first letter, and 
running in fact on into verses 8 and 9 and beyond in verses 
10 through 12, There is a contrast that colors, that shapes everything 
Peter says here about salvation and about our reception of salvation 
and our experience of salvation. There's a contrast here that 
shapes everything Peter says about the Christian life. And 
it is a contrast between this present age and the age to come. We might say it is a contrast 
between now and then. And it's important to recognize 
that this contrast is not a material contrast. That is, it's not a 
contrast between earth as matter and heaven or the new heavens 
and the earth as immaterial. That's not what the scriptures 
teach at all. Rather, the contrast is between 
a present age in which God's people live between the cross 
and the consummation, a present age which is not our final home, 
a present age which is marred and marked by sin, a present 
age which is not the way, so to speak, it was supposed to 
be, and the age to come, which is the age that God has promised 
to bring about. an age in which there is no sin, 
an age in which there is full and unfettered fellowship between 
God and His people. The contrast then is between 
what is presently passing and what is in the future ultimate 
and eternal. And in this context, and with 
this contrast, Peter places the eternal and heavenly inheritance 
of salvation that is to be revealed at the last time. He speaks of 
that on the one hand and places it side by side with the sufferings 
that are ours in this present time. He places side by side, 
that is, the sure expectation of salvation the hope of salvation 
that is ours now, with the full and final realization or revelation 
of salvation that will come when Christ comes again. Another contrast 
or another way to look at this contrast is as it reflects or 
speaks of our faith. Peter places side by side the 
present trial of our faith and the future triumph of our faith. And this same kind of contrast 
or juxtaposition appears in verses 8 and 9. Peter says that at present, 
we believe in Christ. At present, we love Christ. This is what is true of us now 
as Christians living in this passing age. And thus, now, at present, we 
do not see Christ, but we will see Christ. We will behold Him. we will receive the end of our 
faith, the salvation of our souls, even the sight of Christ. One 
thing is clear about this context. Peter is talking about the ultimate 
distinction between now and then, between this age and the age 
to come, between a time for Christians that is marked by faith and love 
and hope at present and in the future will be marked by sight. And as he reaches the pinnacle 
of what he has to say here in verses three through nine, that 
contrast, that juxtaposition is in full view. You see, in this context, Peter 
speaks very practically of such virtues or graces as hope, faith, 
love, even rejoicing. And he does so all against the 
backdrop of what lies ahead for us, of what lies ahead for us 
at the revelation, the appearing of Jesus Christ. And in this 
way then, Peter defines for us both our present and our future 
site of salvation. He tells us the way in which 
we apprehend Christ now at present in this time of manifold trials. And he also tells us of how we 
will apprehend Christ then. that is at the revelation of 
Christ on the last day. And we want to look at these 
two verses this evening, and we want to understand what the 
apostle here says regarding this present site of salvation in 
distinction from our future site of salvation. First of all, then, 
notice with me what the apostle teaches us regarding the present 
site of salvation of the believer. And we ought to notice from the 
very outset that both our present site and our future site, that 
is, Our apprehension of salvation, both now and on the last day, 
has everything to do with Jesus Christ. We'll fill this out more 
fully in just a moment. But the object of faith now, 
the object of love now, the object of our rejoicing now, is Christ. And the object of our sight in 
the age to come is nothing other, or no one other, than Christ. And Peter here speaks very clearly 
of the way in which we presently apprehend Christ. He has just mentioned in verse 
7 that tried faith, that is faith that is proved as though it is 
gold going through a furnace for refinement, that faith will 
triumph at the revelation, at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And what this means then, as 
he goes on to speak in verse eight, is that whatever this 
future appearing of our Savior, whatever that means, it has implications 
for the present. We as Christians need to understand 
that it is our future that defines our present. And it is our future 
in Christ that defines our present in Christ. In the age to come, 
upon the appearing of Jesus Christ, our apprehension of Christ will 
be characterized by sight. we will behold Christ with glorified 
eyes and with a glorified intellect. Again, this is what it means, 
for example, when the psalmist says in Psalm 11, that the upright 
shall behold His face." Or even when David speaks of that one 
thing that he desires, to inquire in the temple of God to behold 
the beauty of the Lord, Psalm 27. This is precisely what John 
says in 1 John 3, in verse 2, that the promises of God to be 
realized on the last day are that we shall be glorified in 
the image of Christ and we shall behold Christ, we shall see Him 
as He is. At present, however, As we live 
between Christ's resurrection and His return, as we live between 
His ascension and His appearing again, we do not, in fact, we 
cannot have such immediate physical and intellectual sight of Jesus 
Christ. At present, we apprehend Christ 
not by sight, but by faith. We apprehend Him, that is, by 
knowing what the Scriptures teach of Christ, by believing what 
the Scriptures teach of Christ, and by trusting in Christ unto 
salvation. And notice the centrality of 
Peter's teaching here, the centrality upon faith. whom not having seen 
ye love, on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, 
ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory." And again, 
even in verse nine, receiving the end of your faith. Twice Peter mentions faith, and 
in both contexts, or in both mentions, it's clear that this 
faith is foundational to those other graces he mentions, foundational 
both to faith and to joy, or excuse me, foundational for both 
love and joy, and that also faith has everything to do with even what we shall receive 
in the future. Not only does this yet-believing 
that Peter speaks of contrast with sight, but it underscores 
the fact that apart from faith, there will be no love. there 
will be no joy. Apart from a saving interest 
in Jesus Christ, apart from receiving the benefits of Christ, resting 
in Christ and His benefits, that is, apart from faith in Jesus 
Christ, there will be no love for Christ, there will be no 
joy in Christ, and there will be no sight of Christ. But Peter's point is much more to the end of saying 
that precisely because you are trusting in Christ, precisely 
because you are resting in Christ and in Christ alone for the totality 
of your salvation, even though you don't see Him, you will love 
Him. you can rejoice in Him. And the 
end of that faith that you presently have will be sight, the fullness 
of salvation. Peter wants to emphasize faith 
in order, yes, to cause us to ask whether or not this faith 
is our faith, cause us to ask whether in fact we do trust and 
believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to encourage us, to 
remind us that if by that empty hand of faith laying hold of 
Jesus Christ, if that is true of us, weak though that faith 
may be, even though we do not yet behold 
our Savior with our very eyes, we have an interest in Him, and 
not just any interest in Him, but an interest in Him that enables 
us to go on in life having all of our affection set upon Him, 
and having all of our joy grow up in Him and because of Him. Peter wants us to understand 
then the centrality of faith, but he also wants us to understand 
that this faith, which defines our present apprehension of Christ, 
also gives rise to these other graces, also serves as the foundation 
and the fountain of such graces as love and joy. And the reality is that just 
as faith looks to Christ, so does love. So does joy. Notice how Peter speaks of it 
here. Whom not having seen, ye love. Who's Peter talking about? Christ. Again, he's just made 
mention of the revelation of Jesus Christ at the end of verse 
7. And it is this same Christ that 
we do not see, but yet whom we love. Christ is the present object 
of not only our trust and our confidence, but Christ is also 
presently the object of our affection. The soul, that is, the mind and 
the heart, though it presently does not lay hold of Christ in 
His fullness or in the soul's fullness, the soul, yet through 
faith, has an apprehension of Jesus Christ that enables the 
soul to rest upon Him and to have every affection for Him. To love Him. in the fullness of His office 
of Savior and Mediator. And all of this, even though 
He is not presently seen by us, Christ is the desire of our hearts. He is the beloved bridegroom 
upon whom his bride looks with all of the possible affection 
that she can muster." Isn't that astounding? In our 
context, the bride has the advantage of getting to know her bridegroom. and have actually seen her future 
husband in the course of their courtship and engagement. But that's not the experience 
of the Christian and the church with their heavenly bridegroom, 
and yet, by the grace of God, we not only believe upon Him, 
but we love Him. And we love Him because we know 
what the Scriptures say of Him, and what the Scriptures say of 
Him is true. They tell us that Jesus Christ 
has done everything necessary for our salvation. Who wouldn't 
love that prophet who makes known 
the will of God sufficiently, perfectly, so that we, His people, 
might know God and know Him whom He sent, even Jesus Christ, and 
so have eternal life. Who wouldn't love such a prophet? 
Who wouldn't love such a priest, who not only makes the perfect 
sacrifice, but is Himself that sacrifice? for the sins of His people. And who wouldn't, what Christian 
wouldn't, knowing and believing that Jesus Christ is the King 
of grace, who will usher His people, who will shepherd His 
people all the way unto glory, who wouldn't, knowing that, love 
Him with all of their mind and heart and soul and strength? 
And Peter says, this is what is true of you. Even though you 
don't see your prophet, your priest, and your king, believing 
upon Him, you love Him. And not only that, but believing 
upon Him, you rejoice. You rejoice greatly with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory. You enjoy Christ. You enjoy Him in such a way, with such magnitude, that the joy is unspeakable. I take that as not that you can't 
speak about it, but that it's hard to put into words to capture 
the fullness of it. And it is a joy and an enjoyment 
that is full of glory. Interestingly, Peter goes on 
to speak of the spirit of glory resting upon us. I think precisely 
what he has in view here is that this is a joy that is born of 
the spirit of Christ working through the word to bring us 
into fellowship with Jesus Christ. And so what we have here is a 
movement of joy that comes from Christ and turns back to Christ 
and has everything to do with Christ. And that's why we rejoice greatly. Believing upon Christ, resting 
in the benefits of Christ, even though we don't see Him, faith 
has apprehended Him in such a way that we take great joy, take 
great comfort, take all of our consolation in Christ. who for us and for our salvation 
came down from heaven, became incarnate, and suffered, was 
crucified, died, and was buried, descended into hell, and rose 
again on the third day, and has ascended into heaven. sat down at the right hand of 
God, and there rules and reigns, and one day will come again to 
judge the living and the dead. This is the Christ in whom we 
greatly rejoice now. Now. Presently rejoice. there is a contentment with Christ 
that marks you, dear believer, here and now, that enables you to take all of your delight, 
find all of your joy, all of your comfort in Christ. Even with the world burning down 
around you, so to speak. Even with the world assaulting 
you. Even as Peter will go on to say 
later, even with the evil one seeking to devour you, you rejoice greatly. Why? Not because you have seen Christ. but because you, through faith, 
are resting in Christ, trusting in Christ. You, by the grace 
of God alone, through faith alone, have received a saving interest 
in Jesus Christ, and for that reason, you rejoice in Jesus Christ. This is our present apprehension of Christ, the present, 
as it were, sight of Christ. And let us never forget, let 
us never forget that not only do faith and love and joy all focus upon Christ. That is, 
the object of all three is Christ. We believe on Christ. Literally, Peter here says, believing 
into Christ. And not only is it the case that 
we then love Christ, as He's revealed in the Scriptures, and 
rejoice in Christ as He's revealed in the Scriptures. Let us not 
forget again that the focus here is Christ, but let us also never 
forget, as the Scriptures teach both here and elsewhere, faith 
and love and joy and even hope itself are all gifts of divine 
grace. As Peter speaks of them here, 
they are spoken of in this context in which He begins, blessed be 
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to 
His great mercy, begat us again unto a living hope. According 
to divine mercy, by the virtue of Jesus Christ, the Father has 
made us alive. He's begotten us again. He's 
made us new creatures. And as such, He has given us 
faith. Faith is not a work stirred up 
by us. And as such, He has given us 
faith, but also He gives us love. He implants love. He cultivates 
love. And He gives us this joy. Now, 
yes, it is true. We believe. We love. We rejoice. These are all actions 
on our part, but they are all actions created, as it were, 
by God and nurtured by God. Our salvation and even our present 
apprehension of Christ is all a gift of the grace of God. and it all focuses upon Jesus 
Christ. Here, then, is the present site 
of salvation. Christ, by grace, is believed 
upon, Christ is loved, and Christ is enjoyed. But notice also what Peter says 
regarding the future sight of salvation. He tells us in verse 
8 that now we do not see Him, but there is a time coming, verse 
9, when we shall receive the end of your faith, even the salvation 
of your souls. we shall receive the end of our 
faith. Faith has a terminus. Faith has a telos. Faith will come to an end, and 
the end to which it will come as Peter says, the reception 
of salvation. And it's not that Peter is here 
saying that we have not received salvation. What else would it 
mean to be begotten again into a living hope? if not in some 
measure to have already received salvation. No, what he's referring 
to here is that ultimate, final, that full disclosure, that ultimate, 
that final, that full realization and revelation of that salvation 
which Christ has already merited by His satisfaction and obedience. And he says, that we will receive 
that full, that final, that ultimate salvation as the end of our faith, as the 
final resting point of faith. It's important to notice something 
here. There are those who want to talk about that we are saved by faith now, 
and then because their Scripture speaks of a judgment according 
to works on the last day, that we will then be saved in some 
measure by our works. And so you have folks that throw 
out on various platforms of social media that to speak of salvation 
by faith alone is somehow not biblical. Well, that's hogwash. The end of our faith is what? Salvation. Yes, there is a judgment 
according to works, but it is a judgment that will confirm 
that such works were born of faith. that they were in fact 
the demonstration of a genuine faith in Jesus Christ. It's not that our works will 
somehow be placed in the balance and whether there's enough there 
or not, we'll make it into heaven. No. Nothing of that is taught 
in Scripture. And it's not taught here. We 
will receive the end of our faith, all of our life, trusting in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter says. You will come to that last 
day, and your faith will not be disappointed in the least, 
because the faith by which you apprehended Christ throughout 
your life will terminate in sight in the full possession of that 
salvation that you laid hold of by faith here and now. At present, we know salvation 
by faith. And so, at present, we love Christ 
and we rejoice in Christ, even in the midst of our darkest trials. 
But the future reception of salvation, the full, the final, the ultimate 
reception of salvation is characterized by sight, by the sight of Jesus 
Christ by the soul. And Peter speaks here of the 
soul, not merely in terms of that immaterial part of the human 
frame, but he speaks here of the soul in a way in which the 
scriptures often do as life, that is of the fullness of life. 
And so he's not just speaking of the salvation of the immaterial 
part of us as human beings, but he's speaking of the full salvation 
of yourself. And the full salvation of ourselves 
entails being glorified in the image of Christ, body and soul. And it entails then beholding 
Christ with glorified body, that is, with glorified eyes. And 
beholding Christ with a glorified soul, with a glorified intellect. sight, this will be the immediate 
physical and intellectual apprehension of Christ, our glorified mediator. And we will see Him in that way 
precisely because we have been made like Him in body and in 
soul. And Peter speaks of this future 
sight with certainty. There is absolutely no doubt 
that if you have trusted in Christ unto salvation, if by faith you 
have been brought into Christ, united to Christ, If you've presently 
apprehended Him by faith, you will receive the end of your 
faith. You will be made like Christ. You will see Christ. You can take that to the bank, 
and the check of divine promise will not bounce, to put it somewhat 
lamely, but truthfully. you can take the promises of 
God's Word to heart. And even though at present there 
is much in the way of struggle, there is much in the way of affliction, 
there is much in the way of trial and temptation. Believer know this. Your faith 
will reach its divinely appointed end. You will see Christ. None of your hopes will be dashed. 
You can hear every message that the world promises. You can hear 
every philosophy that the world sets before you to provide some 
kind of human utopia. And none of it will deliver, 
ever. But God will never fail to deliver. He will never fail to deliver 
because He's already delivered in Christ. All of His promises 
are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. And you, dear believer, your 
life is already hid with God in Christ. Yes, you don't see 
that. but you know it truly by way 
of faith, a faith which gives rise to love for this Christ 
and joy in this Christ. There is a certainty here to 
this sight, but it is a certainty that is given to those who believe. And so even here impressed upon 
us is the necessity of saving faith in Jesus Christ. John Owen said, no man shall 
ever behold the glory of Christ by sight hereafter, who does 
not in some measure behold it by faith here in this world. 
Grace is a necessary preparation for glory and faith for sight. Where the soul is not previously 
seasoned with grace and faith, it is not capable of glory or 
vision. Nay, persons not disposed hereby 
unto it cannot desire it, whatever they pretend. They only deceive 
their own souls in supposing that so they do. Most men will 
say with confidence, living and dying, that they desire to be 
with Christ and to behold his glory, but they can give no reason 
why they should desire any such thing, only that they think it's 
somewhat that is better than to be in that evil condition, 
which otherwise they must be cast into forever when they can 
be here no more. If a man pretend himself to be 
enamored on or greatly to desire what he never saw nor was ever 
represented unto him, he does but dote on his own imaginations. And the pretended desires of 
many to behold the glory of Christ in heaven, who have no view of 
it by faith whilst they are here in this world, are nothing but 
self-deceiving imaginations. Behold the glory of Christ now 
by faith. Would you see Christ when He comes again to dwell in the new heavens and 
the new earth with His bride forever? Will you be those who 
behold Him, who see Him? The only way that that will be 
true of you is if you believe upon Christ. My friend, there 
is every good reason to run and to flee to Jesus Christ. not 
merely as an escape from the horrors of divine judgment, not 
merely as an escape from the horrors and the pangs of hell. But there is every good reason 
to flee to Jesus Christ and to lay hold of Him. Why? Because 
He is the only one beautiful, the only one glorious, the only 
one to whom it is worth running in the least. Think of all of 
the things that you place your affection upon, all of the things 
that are your desire in this life, and none of them are likened 
to Christ. None of them is a Savior who 
delivers from sin and from condemnation, from sin and corruption. And none of them is a Savior 
who delivers you safely into the presence of your Creator 
and grants you unending eternal fellowship with Him. None of 
them. is like unto Christ. In fact, 
there is no one like unto Christ, and there is no one but Christ 
who can grant you fellowship with the triune God. And He grants 
that fellowship now by faith. And He will bring that faith 
to its appointed end, and He will cause you to see Him. He 
will cause you to see your God. The Christ believed upon, the 
Christ loved, the Christ enjoyed now will be the Christ seen. Faith will reach its end. Love 
will be perfected. the enjoyment of Christ will 
be pure and untainted by sin. You shall see your Redeemer, 
dear believer. On the glorious day of His appearing, 
you will be perfectly conformed to His image so that you will 
see Him immediately and directly. And if that doesn't strengthen 
your faith now, if that doesn't warm your love now, if that doesn't 
even cause you to rejoice now, I don't know what will. But it should and it does. Trust in Christ. Remember then 
as well the end of your faith, the sight of Christ. And let 
that be even now a strength unto your weary soul. Let that be a comfort in the 
midst of trial. Indeed, let it be your hope that 
you will see your Savior. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, We do not see Christ, but by 
Your grace we believe upon Him. We love Him, and we greatly rejoice 
in Him. What grace, what kindness You 
have shown to us. You not only give us faith in 
Christ, but You give us all things in Him. You give us joy in the midst 
of all of the trials associated with life in this fallen world, 
given all of the struggles that we have with our remaining sin, 
given all of the assaults of the evil one. You nevertheless 
give us joy, and joy because of Christ, and joy in Christ. And what is more, you promise 
to give us the end of our faith. in the sight of our Savior. We 
pray that this grace would stir us to love, stir us to hope, 
and stir us to even greater faith. Let us not be unthankful, O God. Let us not look upon you as if 
you are a miserly God, but let us see how great are your gifts 
towards us in Jesus Christ. and so let us be spurred on to 
love and to good works. And all this, not for our glory, 
but for the glory of our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen. I ask you to stand for the benediction. Hear this word by which we are 
sent out, not empty, but full. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.