The Tabernacle Tour #1

1Peter1

1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 

***Not only foreigners in the natural sense...(many of whom were driven from Jerusalem by persecution from their fellow Jews - which would have been a hard thing)...

But also foreigners in a spiritual sense (see vs17; ch2:11; Hebrews 11:13) - which is a glorious thing!***

2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. (In other words: His Spirit has set you apart from the world, for God). As a result...(it is because of this that)...you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

(Read Ephesians 1:4-10; 2:8-9) In other words: Salvation is, in its entirety, the work of God’s grace - from start to finish...And this is why we ask for more -indeed, we need more!)...May God give you more and more grace and peace.

The Hope of Eternal Life

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay (Matt6:18-21; 1Cor7:29-31)5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see (Col3:1-4)...at the revelation of Jesus Christ (ESV) - the rapture (see Revelation 2&3)

6 So be truly glad.There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold...     Why? Read Ephesians 2:8....                                Because: Read Hebrews 4:2-3; 11:6.                            So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world - the rapture...Revelation 2&3 (Col 3:3-4; 1John3:2)

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls (John20:29).

10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward...(Isaiah 53).

12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.  (Read also Hebrews 11)

A Call to Holy Living

13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control (1Cor2:16; 2Tim1:7; Gal5:22-23). Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world (Romans 8:23-25; Col3:1-4; 1John3:2). 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (Set apart for God’s Kingdom...no longer of the kingdom of this world 1Peter2:9)

17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God (This means that when we were born again, into the Life of Messiah and His kingdom, everything pertaining to this world...every generational curse...every ancestral legacy...was severed at the root. (Compare also Matt3:8-10) 

20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake...                                                  ...He chose Jesus before the world began?...                Yes! See Genesis 2:1-3; John8:58 & 19:30; Rev21:6; Hebrews4.

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. ***And He will, in the fullness of time, also raise us from the dead - 1Cor 6:14; 15:55***

22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart...love one another earnestly from a pure heart (ESV) see Psalm51:10; Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33.

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 24 As the Scriptures say, 

“People are like grass;
    their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
25     But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

John1:1✝️

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

***It is by this Word that we have been born again...therefore we also will live forever.***