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.
Scripture Reading
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.
Opening Prayer
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.
Introduction
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.
The Present Sight 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.
Faith Gives Rise to Joy in Christ
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, Love, and Joy as Gifts of Grace
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
The Future Sight of Salvation
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.
Salvation by Faith Alone, Not Works
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
Glorification: Beholding Christ Body and Soul
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
The Certainty of the Believer's Hope
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.
Application: Behold Christ by Faith Now
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.
Closing Prayer
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.