For the next weeks I would like to draw some meditations from the book of First Peter. I have decided to use the books that Peter wrote to help me deepen my understanding of Jesus and the gospel since Peter followed Jesus around for so many years. These posts will give you the opportunity to think about Peter’s message along with me over the next several months.
Today let’s look at 1 Peter 1:1-2: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”
Let me just give you a few quick thoughts to whet your appetite to study the passage more thoroughly:
My first thought is to remember who wrote this. It was Jesus’s disciple Peter who had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, often speaking before thinking. But now he is a leader in the church and reaching out to scattered Christians all throughout Asia Minor.
Notice that Peter refers to these people, along with all other believers as chosen by God long ago according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. My purpose here is not to get into a big debate about how all of this works, but it is interesting that God the Father, who is all-wise and all-knowing, chose us to serve and follow Him. Whatever this means, and however it works, it is an amazing thought! But the next section is where I really want us to focus. All of this takes place through the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
What does sanctification of the Spirit mean? It means that the Spirit of God sets us apart for God’s glory and His service. We once were part of the world system and walked according to the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2). But now, we have been set apart for God’s glory by the Holy Spirit. That’s an amazing thought to me.
The second half of the phrase tells us the purpose of this setting apart: It is for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. That means that God’s intention and goal is to make us obedient followers who have been cleansed and forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Putting this all together, you could say the Holy Spirit sets us apart to be cleansed by Jesus’s blood resulting in an obedient life. This is what the Christian life is all about. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul, in Romans 16, speaks of the mystery “made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith (Rom 16:25-26). That’s God’s goal, isn’t it? Obedient followers?