Monday, February 9, 2015

Peter Wrote Before the Separation of Christian and Jew


By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1: 3-5

Going back to the beginning of the letter, Peter is writing to the Jewish Diaspora.  If he were writing to Gentiles-to us-as Paul did, his introduction would have put Jesus in the center stage.  Consider, for example, Romans 1:

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the glory of God…”

For Peter, God “chose and destined”, God be “blessed” as the Father of Jesus, by God’s great mercy, God has given us a new birth… 

Why is this so important?  Because Peter is seeking a seamless intersection of the Jewish faith with the coming and presence of Jesus.  The division of church and synagogue will not come until later.  The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is an expansion of the Messianic expectation found in the Old Testament.  God is sending somebody, someone the Jewish faith is expecting.  Peter says this person is Jesus.

But God is the author, the protector, and the preserver of all that has come about.  The inheritance is in heaven, protected by God, accessed through our faith, but preserved to the final salvation at the end of time.  All of this is from God, because…

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  1 Peter 1: 6-7 
These words we will consider next.





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