ELECT. 1st Peter 1:2 Believers who are baptized as a public testimony to their faith in Christ often face personal persecution from friends and family because they are accused of abandoning "the faith of our fathers." The reality is that many who criticize, rather than returning to the faith of our fathers, who were committed to the word of God and followed its teachings, have accepted human ideas and adopted man-made practices. As a result, relatively few rely solely on the word of God as the source of doctrinal teaching, the guide for conduct, and the instruction for church practice. Christians everywhere are subject to misunderstanding, ridicule, and harassment by those who feel judged by the holy living of those who follow the scriptural teachings of the Bible.
Peter understood his responsibility as an apostle and wanted the believers to understand who they were. "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God" would assure them that the Lord they obeyed would not abandon them during the trials they faced. The Lord did not then, nor does He now, promise to prevent His people from suffering. Instead, He promises to be with them through the suffering. "When thou passeth through the waters I will be with thee."
Did God know before making the world that someday I’d come along? Does He know before words are written if the lines will be part of a song? Is everything planned, or does anything “just happen” that God allows? Is the Church only “elect,” or is there some way “elect” is a reference to me? I don’t think it is an abstract word only, at times, used in a general sense. But God is telling me He really foreknew that I would be born, and the history of my life would be such that His nature and wisdom would be revealed.
Does God know every member who will ultimately be part of the Body of Christ? Is it within the framework of His plans for the ages that He would make me His choice? Does my response have any part in the way He designed to bring my salvation to pass? Is there some choice I have that makes me responsible for accepting the life God wants me to have? It is true that God has plans and purposes to fulfill. It would be foolish of me to ever doubt that. It is also true that God gave me free will. And through His grace, faith empowers me to act.
Does “foreknowledge” include everything He does and all that will happen in the future? Is “foreknowledge” only about individuals, or does it encompass events across all cultures? Are the births, deaths, wars, and murders all part of what God already knows? Are the good and bad, failures and victories, known even when carried out by those He has chosen? I must remember that God is different from me. He exists in an eternal “now.” There is no past or future to Him. All that He has planned is revealed through His foreknowledge. So, for all my questions that remain unclear, I will trust in the word “elect.” One who has “foreknowledge” of everything that happens certainly has the right to choose everyone to hear His Gospel and give them the opportunity to believe in Him who exists in an eternal “now” and is described as a “chosen” one—Christ—to receive.
Christians are not required to abandon their human heritage to follow Christ. Our attitude toward others remains one of love and genuine interest, but our Lord has a higher and prior claim on us. We are placed where we are to introduce others to the Lord Jesus Christ by preaching the Gospel in any way we can. The persecution of believers is one of the means God has arranged to make people aware of the truth of the Gospel. "Why don't you charge a fee like everyone else?" "If there is no cost, there has to be a catch!" are two common phrases heard when the Gospel is preached freely and without charge. The Holy Spirit also works in the redemptive work of God's children. The Father chose us; the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and draws us from sin to our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us even when we were in our sins. It is the "blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, that cleanseth us from all sin."
Those whom God has chosen obey His word and "walk in good works" as God has intended. So, to those whom the Gracious Trinity of God has granted eternal life, Peter suggests that grace and peace are not only available for us to enjoy and live in, but there is an endless supply of grace multiplied by infinite peace at our disposal. It is present for us even amid any kind of suffering. When grace and peace are multiplied to us, "fullness of joy" results, even in the situations we are called to endure. Although those circumstances are naturally beyond our control, God has provided everything we need.
Peter's goal in this letter was to remind the scattered believers that God chose them because He knew them and loved them. They are a special possession to Him. Sanctification sets them apart to obey the truth in salvation and in their lives as children of God. Grace shows His love for us, and peace includes the blessing of salvation within us. We are in fellowship with God because of the atoning work of Christ, who shed His blood for us on the cross. This should motivate us to serve Him despite the pressures and pain of persecution and suffering!
Far beyond what man can fully express and understand is a truth revealed in the scriptures, helping me to comprehend what it means to be a child of God and how it came to pass as the work of three equal Persons unfolds. The Father, in wisdom, was willing to identify the elect; the Holy Spirit used the Word to draw me from sin to faith; the Son, the Lord Jesus, paid the price with His shed blood; and the blessings of redemption are truly all of God.
The Holy Spirit sets one apart when first convicting me of sin. And when repentance and faith in Christ take place, He then enters in, leading and sanctifying the one to whom He gave new life. So that a new believer now obeys, and grace and peace are multiplied. The sprinkled blood is proof that Christ’s life was given for me. Obedience and sanctification by the Spirit prove I truly have life. Appreciation for God’s work in bringing me to real faith is evidence that what God is doing in me is truly a work of grace.
As life unfolds and experiences come, the Holy Trinity still works in my life, each fulfilling His role in perfect harmony. Instead of just looking back to a work God did in days of yore, the work of the Trinity continues every day, growing more and more.
SANCTIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT. A work of God’s grace in a person’s soul transforms their life, making them look forward to living in heaven. Others believe everything is fine because they see themselves as “good people,” and they don’t think they need forgiveness. This isn’t just in one place; it’s the same everywhere Kingdom people live, and their testimony is clear—even if they’ve lived there their whole lives. Those who are saved and headed for heaven still often appear as odd strangers on some kind of unusual mission. We are living here temporarily and aren’t asking for, or pursuing, any kind of high, worldly position. So, they are polite and often very kind, but almost all prefer to keep their distance because living for an unseen, absent Master requires ongoing, steady effort.
There is a sequence of divine actions that lead to our salvation. Because God is infinite in every aspect, He knows who will be saved through His foreknowledge. The sanctification of the Holy Spirit prepares a person beforehand to be willing to respond to God’s grace. That person hears the Gospel and repents of their sins. By faith in what God's Word says, they personally trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin and its consequences. When a person is saved, they inherit all the blessings made possible by Christ's sacrifice.
Sanctification is also an ongoing process by which the Holy Spirit works in believers, enabling them to grow in holiness, separate from their old ways of living, and become more like our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have been bought with a price, “the precious blood of Christ,” are forgiven of their sins, redeemed, made a new creation in Christ, given a new nature, become a child of God and an inheritor of His blessings, given eternal life, and many more lasting benefits.
OBEDIENCE AND SPRINKLING OF THE BLOOD. When a person is obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ, they obey the Gospel by repenting and receiving Him by faith. It is a natural characteristic of the new nature we receive that we love the Lord and want to please Him by obeying Him and committing ourselves to follow and serve Him. The benefits that flow from the shedding of Christ’s blood, the giving of His life to pay the price of our salvation, are evident when our love for Christ is genuine and observable.
Those who are saved have already experienced God's saving grace. They continually receive “grace for grace,” grace given when grace is needed. Through the ongoing benefits of grace, we gain the spiritual strength to live for our Lord every day and grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then we have peace in our souls, even though we live in a chaotic world and an ungodly society. We “wrestle” against “principalities and powers,” and “spiritual wickedness.”
Even though our fellowship with God can be broken when we disobey Him, we can be restored to that fellowship when we confess and forsake our sins. The blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from all sin. Grace and peace are benefits of the holy fellowship with God. The Father looked on us with favor before He made the world. The Holy Spirit sanctified us to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake and provides the sufficiency of His blood, His sacrifice, when we fail or are disobedient.
SALVATION IN SUPERLATIVES: ABUNDANT MERCY.