I commend the following article to you. It was written by Jeff Burnett, my very
dear friend and beloved brother in the Lord Jesus. Jeff is a very gifted young
man who preaches the word in the state of Louisiana. He is humble, yet bold, and
is a fine student of God's word! May Yahweh bless him with many useful years in
the service of the King of Eternity.
R. Daly
dear friend and beloved brother in the Lord Jesus. Jeff is a very gifted young
man who preaches the word in the state of Louisiana. He is humble, yet bold, and
is a fine student of God's word! May Yahweh bless him with many useful years in
the service of the King of Eternity.
R. Daly
Joy
Inexpressible
1
Peter 1:1-9
The Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter, in his
first letter, speaks of a
happiness that words cannot express. It is a joy so
beyond finite human
comprehension, that mere human words fail to communicate
the emotions felt.
Peter is writing his first epistle to a group who find
themselves in tough times.
The epistle was sent to individuals he described
as, “sojouners” ASV-1901,
“aliens” NASB-1977 and “strangers in the world” NIV-2011. The text
says the
group described was “dispersed” or “scattered” throughout the
region of Pontus,
Galatia, Cappodocia, Asia, and Bithynia vs.1. This region is
known as Asia Minor,
which would be the country of Turkey today.
Who exactly is Peter writing this letter to? In
verse 1, Peter addresses them as
“elect”. The English word “elect”, comes from
the Greek word eklektos, which
carries the meaning of “chosen” or “picked out”. Elect in this context refers
to
Christians, who had their lives redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ (1:18-22).
These followers of Christ lived among
people, who did not share in the same
lifestyle, or a commonwealth in heaven.
Again, they were “aliens and strangers”
in the world around them (1:1; 2:11).
To Christians, this world in which we live
is not home. 1 Peter was written to
Christians in a distant land, who were suffering.
Study the following passages
of encouragement: to their faith (1:6-7); to their
conduct (2:12); suffering for
wrongdoing (2:19-20); to follow the example left by
Jesus (2:21-24); to suffer
for righteousness (3:16-18); to be Christ-like in the midst
of suffering (4:1);
to remain in the “will of God” though judged by men (4:6);
rejoice to be able
to share in the sufferings of Christ (4:12-16); to be glad that the
“God of all
grace” will restore them and make them “perfect” (5:10). You have
noticed that
all of these passages show with certainty the suffering that was
experienced by these
Christians.
In the midst of this suffering, certain words are
used to describe the outlook of
these Christians towards Christ: Belief, Love
and Rejoice. In verse 8, we find the
in the original Greek, hon ouk idontes, which literally means,
“had not so much as
a glimpse of” (Guy N. Woods, Commentary on 1 Peter, page 30).How could they,
never seeing the
physical form and existence of Jesus, love Him? The word “love”
in our English
Bibles is from the Greek word agapao.
This is not referring to the
affection we share as humans, but rather in
relation of mankind to God. The love
described is an active, functioning
working emotion. “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). “Greater love has no one than
this,
that one lay down his life for
his friends” (John 15:13). “But God demonstrates
His
own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
(Romans 5:8). “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
and walk in
love, just as Christ also
loved you and gave Himself up for us…”
(Ephesians 5:1-2). “For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments…” (1 John 5:3). This short list of verses expresses the type of
love to which Peter is referring. Although the folks to whom Peter wrote had
never seen Jesus, they by faith were certain of His example, that was worthy of
following. Never seeing Christ with their eyes, but loving Him through faith,
caused these brothers and sisters to “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and
full of glory”. Agalliaois the Greek word from which we get our English word
rejoice. Thayer defines in the following way, “to exult exceedingly” (Thayer's
Greek Lexicon, page 3). Knowing what Jesus had done for them, they were
constrained to follow Him. They had never seen Jesus, but their hearts were full
of deep emotion, gladness, joy and praise that words cannot describe. These
homeless ones of this earth, would suffer for a little while, but would eventually
receive the “salvation of their souls”. A reservation at home in heaven was
awaiting them and that was the cause and reason for their inexpressible joy!
(Ephesians 5:1-2). “For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments…” (1 John 5:3). This short list of verses expresses the type of
love to which Peter is referring. Although the folks to whom Peter wrote had
never seen Jesus, they by faith were certain of His example, that was worthy of
following. Never seeing Christ with their eyes, but loving Him through faith,
caused these brothers and sisters to “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and
full of glory”. Agalliaois the Greek word from which we get our English word
rejoice. Thayer defines in the following way, “to exult exceedingly” (Thayer's
Greek Lexicon, page 3). Knowing what Jesus had done for them, they were
constrained to follow Him. They had never seen Jesus, but their hearts were full
of deep emotion, gladness, joy and praise that words cannot describe. These
homeless ones of this earth, would suffer for a little while, but would eventually
receive the “salvation of their souls”. A reservation at home in heaven was
awaiting them and that was the cause and reason for their inexpressible joy!
Similarly, we as Christians are “aliens and
strangers” on this place called
planet earth. We share a lot in common with the
Christians to whom this epistle
was addressed. When we are being criticized,
mistreated and suffer for the cause
of Christ, where do we turn to? Where is
our hope and trust? Is it in the same God
and His Son in whom the Christians in
1st Peter had their confidence? May we
always look to Christ and the
example He left us to follow. When we contemplate
the suffering recorded for us
in this letter, it should not be discouraging, but an
emotion of joy and
gladness knowing that the one who suffers for Christ “will
obtain as the
outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls”. In this we greatly
rejoice!
rejoice!
