1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as strangers, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by sanctification of the spirit so as to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great loving kindness has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in the heavens for you, ⁵ who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, ⁷ so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ⁸ and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ¹⁰ Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: ¹¹ Searching exactly what, or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow (1Pet1:1-11)

Moving on to 1Peter, the apostle’s opening verse concerns the fact that those who become the disciples of Christ do so because they have been chosen of God. This of course concurs with Paul and every other New Testament writer who refers directly or indirectly to predestination. In Jesus’ words, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn6:44). Given it is all God’s work, it happens by a person’s soul/spirit being sanctified (v2), in the sense of being set apart for Christ and having been spiritually enabled to discern that He is the Way, Truth and Life.

The blood of sprinkling

Ongoing sanctification in terms of purification is a work of the Holy Spirit, but also involves being “sprinkled with Christ’s blood” (v2). That expression harks back to  the sprinkling of animal’s  blood upon congregations in Old Testament times. That was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist, which in turn infers that Peter (along with the writer to the Hebrews in 12:24)  were referring to a ceremonial act in which Christ’s blood (or that which contains it) is received, not merely a remembrance or symbolization. The latter also fails to satisfy the obligations of John chapter six concerning the need to eat Christ’s body and drink His blood in order to be raised to eternal Life (v53) and attain the first resurrection (v54).

Such is  “the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses  us from all sin” (1Jn1:7), “καθαρίζει” (cleanses) being a present indicative active verb; such forgiveness and cleansing also being subject to our walking in the light as Christ is in the light (same verse). Surely the Apostle John was being prophetic when he cautioned concerning how the Spirit still testifies to Christ’s presence on earth:

“This is the One who has come through water and blood, Jesus Christ; not in the water only, but  in the water and in (ἐν^G1722) the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three are into the one (1Jn5:6-8)?

Chosen to be heirs

After Peter’s opening blessing (vv1-2) the narrative proceeds by affirming again that it was not the believer’s choice to “get saved” but that we have been born again because God has caused it (v3), and that it was made possible through Christ’s resurrection from the dead. God’s initiation is evidenced again by reference to an inheritance (which is rarely if ever the recipient’s choice). And what an inheritance! – one that is “reserved in the heavens (plural -οὐρανοῖς )”. If you have been following my posts you will know that I do not take that to be referring to the soul going to heaven, particularly in this instance, because as Peter goes on to write, it pertains to a salvation that is “ready to be revealed in the last days” (v5).

Salvation within the New Covenant

In the meantime, Peter was aware that like himself and his Master before him, the believers he was addressing were likely to experience trials and tribulations (vv6-7). As recently considered, these were both necessary and beneficial for those with such a destiny, and would result in “the salvation of their souls”. But note what follows – “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you” (v10). Salvation within the New Covenant sealed in Christ’s blood was not merely to avoid going to Hell. That would hardly have been an issue for the aforementioned prophets, still less for the angels, who Peter goes on to write “desire to look into these matters”.  It rather pertains to the “glory that should follow the suffering of Christ” (v11) and the precise nature of the New Testament’s Good News  that so intrigued the angels (v12 – next post), the more stupendous aspects of which have not generally been acknowledged or taught by the churches, for reasons I suggested in a recent post .  

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