Rev. Vance Becker, LCMS missionary serving as a theological educator at Neema Lutheran College in Matongo, Kenya, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Peter 1:1-12. Read Pastor Becker’s story and how to support his missionary work at lcms.org/becker.
St. Peter’s first epistle was likely written in the mid-60s from Rome. He writes to several churches in Asia in order to strengthen them in the face of persecution and to encourage them in their Christian life and witness before the world. The Apostle begins by reminding his recipients of God’s gracious election in Christ through the sanctification of the Spirit. God is the Blessed One for the mercy He has shown us sinners in raising us from the death of our sins into the new life of hope that is eternal in Christ. As we wait for that life to be revealed fully, we rejoice even in various trials, because God uses these trials to refine our faith in Him. This faith loves and trusts in Jesus, even though He is currently unseen. We know He will deliver His promised salvation, foretold by the prophets and announced now in the preaching of the Gospel.
“The Imperishable Inheritance” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistles of 1 and 2 Peter and Jude. The life of the Christian Church right now is life in exile. We endure attacks from various trials and from false teachers. Such suffering makes us long for the eternal home that will be ours at the resurrection of the dead. In Jesus, we have this promise of eternal life that can never be snatched away. These three epistles strengthen us to hold fast to Christ in the midst of suffering and to give witness to the hope that is ours in Him.
Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.
Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.
1 Peter 1:1-12
Greeting
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Born Again to a Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time[a] the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 1:11 Or what time or circumstances
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
