"As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.'
So the honor is for you who believe, but those who do not believe,
'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.'
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" 1 Peter 2:4-10.
On the day when the young Hebrew exile Daniel entered the throne room of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the lives of many hung in the balance. The king's sleep had left him, and his spirit troubled him on account of a terrifying dream. The king had threatened to take the lives of all his counselors if they could not interpret his dream. But to Daniel -- the exile [remember we all the elect exiles of the dispersion now] -- God made everything known. So he entered the throne room, and said in effect:
"You saw, O King, a great image, and its appearance was frightening. The head of the image was of fine gold. Its chest and arms were of silver. Its middle and thighs were of bronze. Its legs were of iron and its feet partly iron and clay Then a stone was cut out of a mountain not made with hands, and the stone struck the image and broke it into pieces. The interpretation, O King, is this: the precious metals are kingdoms -- and you are the head made of fine gold. The stone, however, is the coming kingdom of God. And it shall stand forever, and of its increase there shall be no end" Daniel 2:31-45.
Daniel was not the only one in Israel's history who spoke of God's kingdom as a stone. Isaiah had seen a stone in a vision God had given him years before.
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious" Isaiah 28:16.
The psalmist also spoke of a cornerstone that would bring salvation to all who believed as well as a stone that would be a stumbling-block for those who reject it [Psalm 118:22]. And so, deeply imbedded in the stratta of Israel's rich history was the conviction that she was God's promised kingdom -- that Jerusalem was God's saving city and that the temple stood at the center of God's activity in the world.
Centuries later a young, impoverished itinerant preacher from Galilee named Jesus would come along and take all the imagery of the stone passages in the Hebrew Scriptures and commit the unpardonable sin of applying them to Himself instead of to Judaism, the city or the temple. Luke records the day when Jesus came through the stone gates of Zion, that great city, and stood in the temple teaching with authority. When the religious leaders asked Him, "By what authority do you do this?" He responded by telling a parable of wicked tenants who rejected the authority of the vineyard owner's son. The leaders knew, of course, that the story had been directed against them, and they took issue with it [Luke 20:9-18].
In defending Himself, Jesus provoked them further by quoting from the psalmist about the rejected stone of God. And then, most amazingly of all, Jesus alluded to the prophet Daniel and took upon Himself the stone not made with hands -- the one that would come from Heaven and replace all the kingdoms of the world. On that storied day, Jesus of Nazareth stole all of Israel's strong poetic and prophetic stone imagery and called it His own. In essence He proclaimed that in Him all the promises of God are being fulfilled.
It is in the light of all this rich and contested history regarding Israel's religious identity that Peter -- the one whom Jesus called the "rock [upon whom] I will build my church" writes the passage that headlines this blog entry. These are, indeed, stunning words and elevating beyond measure. In one sentence [vv. 4, 5], Peter grasps the entire wealth of Israel's identity and applies it not to Jesus alone, but to any man, woman or child who comes to faith in Christ!
When we come to Jesus -- not the city of Jerusalem -- we come to the "living stone."
When we come to Jesus -- not to Judaism -- we come into God's kingdom.
When we come to Jesus -- not to the ornate temple -- we become God's "spiritual house" and "holy priesthood."
These phrases applied metaphorically here to Peter's early readers, represent the most exalted ideas within all of Judaism. After all, the spiritual house was the temple. If God was going to dwell anywhere in the world, certainly His presence would be there. In addition, the royal priesthood consisted of those honored ones who had the privilege of standing in the very presence of God. Yet now, following Jesus' example in usurping these ideas, Peter claims that in Christ these truths are likewise transferred over to every follower of Jesus. In essence the church has become God's people and God's place in the world. What a concept to encourage those struggling so much just to get by or even for us 2000 years later. To go from being far off the beaten path; geographically removed from Jerusalem's great stone temple, the place of culture and religious action in the world now being dispersed, many very far from home -- not merely from Heaven -- to being proclaimed by the great apostle as being at the very heart and center of God's activity in the world. It is really unimaginable.
How inspiring is it to be reminded by Peter that if we have come to Jesus as God's "living stone" then we are at the center of what God is doing in the world? We are God's spiritual house. This cuts across any idea that we need a "sacred space." God's people are now His sacred space. The Scriptures do away with any idea of being at home anywhere outside of faith in Christ. His Spirit indwells us. There is no longer any need to lean on brick and mortar [this coming from a former architecture student no less] in an effort to get close to God. We can't get any closer to God than through our faith in Christ.
And not only this but Peter bestows a second new identification tag on his reader ... priesthood. The priesthood, of course, began with Moses and Aaron. And it was Moses and Aaron who stood before a holy God on behalf of a sinful people. In some respects they functioned as intermediaries between God and the world. As such, the priests were the ones most intimately acquainted with God. Now consider the impact of Peter's text in light of Israel's priestly history. Peter calls all believers a "holy" and a "royal priesthood" meaning that we are the ultimate insiders. We are not to be merely representative of God's place in the world; we are to serve as God's priests before the world. What an encouraging word for those Peter identified in 1:1 as "exiles." The ones who struggled with the sense of being outsiders now see in a fresh way that they are very dear to God indeed. So be encouraged.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
From "Hollow Men" to a Living Hope
In 1925 T. S. Eliot gave the world his poem "The Hollow Men." In it he forces us to face down the angst and despair that so often accompanies human existence. His poem begins:
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass.
Eliot's metaphor for humanity is especially haunting -- "as wind in dry grass." We are spoken of as being arid and hot; our voices are dried up, and we merely whisper. We are incapable of great usefulness, except perhaps as kindling for starting a fire. He wants us to see ourselves as being without water -- incapable of bringing refreshment, let alone life to anything. Like scarecrows we are hollow men without life or hope or connection to the source of blessing.
Eliot's image is a good one to describe Peter's readers before they had ever heard the gospel preaching that filled their lives with good news. After all, before coming to faith in Christ their circumstances were as dry as their souls. By and large they were a people who lived far off the beaten path. Together they shared the unhappy distinction of being dispersed in arid and out-of-the-way places. For the most part, his readers spent their lives away from the refreshing centers of culture [remind anyone of life in Tallahassee?].
Spiritually they had been dry too. Souls parched and longing for life. But then, through Peter or perhaps someone else, we are simply not told, they got wind of the source of all life. They heard about Jesus and His gospel. And as their faith attests, they drank deeply and were born again. They had gone from being hollow men to holy saints -- "born again to a living hope" and an eternal "inheritance" [1:3, 4].
In coming to Christ, they exchanged Eliot's lines for the verse of another poet -- one named Isaiah who Peter quotes in 1:23-25:
" ... since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for
'All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower fall,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.'
And this word is the good news that was preached to you."
These are the words of the poetic prophet at his best. For they remind us that it is the word of the Lord that make all the difference in this world of hollow men. And yet by the time Peter picked up his pen to write, it appears that the sagebrush of the soul had swept through their towns. Their rising life in Christ had been eclipsed by difficulties. Trials had been their lot. Some were despairing. Most were feeling as if they had lost their way in the world. Collectively, the elect of God were again succumbing to exilic homesickness. Simply put, they were discouraged. And so Peter writes to them.
He opens by reminding them of salvation's future reward in vv. 3-5 as he speaks of "a salvation to be revealed at the last time." He then elaborates on salvation's present adversity in vv. 6-9 as he refers to a salvation only won by present trials. And then he closes his introduction by describing salvation's past glories in vv. 10-12 when he speaks of a salvation with a rich prophetic past.
For the first time, in vv. 10-12, Peter formally introduces us to past Hebrew prophets. He writes of "prophets who prophesied." The prophets were some of Israel's ancient officeholders, beginning with Moses. The institution of the prophetic office can be found in Deuteronomy 18 where at that point in the narrative of God's grace, the writer is recounting the period when God's people had reached Mt. Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. Initially God spoke to them in the hearing of all the people which they largely found terrifying. So they, instead, asked if God would speak them through the voice of Moses. God condescended to their request and in doing so instituted the prophetic office.
All of Israel's prophets, from Moses onward, stood in the presence of God in order to receive God's word and then spoke that word in the presence of all the people. What Peter is telling his readers in v. 10 [Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully] is that the prophets' best days were spent searching out salvation's fulfillment. They were men who studied long and hard. They literally pored over God's word even as He was giving it to them. As v. 11 continues [inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories].
In essence, these words show us that the prophets were given a particular insight into salvation's mystery -- that Christ would be a suffering Christ -- and that only after suffering would He be given subsequent glories. For the typical first century religious Jew, this thought was simply unacceptable. They wanted a Christ of glory and they had no time for a Messiah given over to suffering. Yet Peter's early readers had been saved by just such a gospel. For the discouraged believer this reminder would likely have been greatly encouraging. The life they were living, filled as it was with trials and sufferings, mirrored the life of the Messiah, in whom they had put their trust.
The encouragement Peter had already given them would only continue to swell when they read his words in the opening line of v. 12: "It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you." These words likely did more for Peter's early readers than we can possibly imagine. Did he really say that the prophets knew that they were not serving their own generation but ours??? Did he just imply that they were aware that God had put them to work on our behalf? Any thoughts that God didn't care about them or that they had never been a part of anything great were now quieted. For Peter had shown them that the prophets were the true outsiders, not themselves. The prophets of the past were the ones kept from seeing salvation's fullness. In fact, for the most part the prophets outdid them all in having to endure rejection and loss.
Such is the reward of the prophet. They were largely rejected in their own day. They served another time. They couldn't understand salvation as clearly as they would have liked and they were often physically impaired as a result of their work. Peter's first readers no doubt were deeply humbled by this fresh consideration of salvation's past glories. The extent to which God went to secure both their and our salvation was borne with a cost, not only to Himself, not only to His Son, but it also cost the prophets greatly as well. This should humble us as well. We know nothing of this kind of suffering.
We might be right to ask or wonder what enabled God's prophets to go on? But v. 11 reveals the answer to be "the Spirit of Christ in them" who kept them going. Christ Himself is depicted as a wind blowing gently through the prophets as they told about the coming Christ. It was the Spirit of Christ who enabled the prophets to pore over their sermons and visions. It was Christ in them who kept them reading the scrolls of other prophets who had gone before. Ultimately, we could say that in this first chapter Peter has moved his readers from Eliot's wind as through dry grass to the Word and the Spirit's breath and finally then to Christ who brings life to all.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass.
Eliot's metaphor for humanity is especially haunting -- "as wind in dry grass." We are spoken of as being arid and hot; our voices are dried up, and we merely whisper. We are incapable of great usefulness, except perhaps as kindling for starting a fire. He wants us to see ourselves as being without water -- incapable of bringing refreshment, let alone life to anything. Like scarecrows we are hollow men without life or hope or connection to the source of blessing.
Eliot's image is a good one to describe Peter's readers before they had ever heard the gospel preaching that filled their lives with good news. After all, before coming to faith in Christ their circumstances were as dry as their souls. By and large they were a people who lived far off the beaten path. Together they shared the unhappy distinction of being dispersed in arid and out-of-the-way places. For the most part, his readers spent their lives away from the refreshing centers of culture [remind anyone of life in Tallahassee?].
Spiritually they had been dry too. Souls parched and longing for life. But then, through Peter or perhaps someone else, we are simply not told, they got wind of the source of all life. They heard about Jesus and His gospel. And as their faith attests, they drank deeply and were born again. They had gone from being hollow men to holy saints -- "born again to a living hope" and an eternal "inheritance" [1:3, 4].
In coming to Christ, they exchanged Eliot's lines for the verse of another poet -- one named Isaiah who Peter quotes in 1:23-25:
" ... since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for
'All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower fall,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.'
And this word is the good news that was preached to you."
These are the words of the poetic prophet at his best. For they remind us that it is the word of the Lord that make all the difference in this world of hollow men. And yet by the time Peter picked up his pen to write, it appears that the sagebrush of the soul had swept through their towns. Their rising life in Christ had been eclipsed by difficulties. Trials had been their lot. Some were despairing. Most were feeling as if they had lost their way in the world. Collectively, the elect of God were again succumbing to exilic homesickness. Simply put, they were discouraged. And so Peter writes to them.
He opens by reminding them of salvation's future reward in vv. 3-5 as he speaks of "a salvation to be revealed at the last time." He then elaborates on salvation's present adversity in vv. 6-9 as he refers to a salvation only won by present trials. And then he closes his introduction by describing salvation's past glories in vv. 10-12 when he speaks of a salvation with a rich prophetic past.
For the first time, in vv. 10-12, Peter formally introduces us to past Hebrew prophets. He writes of "prophets who prophesied." The prophets were some of Israel's ancient officeholders, beginning with Moses. The institution of the prophetic office can be found in Deuteronomy 18 where at that point in the narrative of God's grace, the writer is recounting the period when God's people had reached Mt. Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. Initially God spoke to them in the hearing of all the people which they largely found terrifying. So they, instead, asked if God would speak them through the voice of Moses. God condescended to their request and in doing so instituted the prophetic office.
All of Israel's prophets, from Moses onward, stood in the presence of God in order to receive God's word and then spoke that word in the presence of all the people. What Peter is telling his readers in v. 10 [Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully] is that the prophets' best days were spent searching out salvation's fulfillment. They were men who studied long and hard. They literally pored over God's word even as He was giving it to them. As v. 11 continues [inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories].
In essence, these words show us that the prophets were given a particular insight into salvation's mystery -- that Christ would be a suffering Christ -- and that only after suffering would He be given subsequent glories. For the typical first century religious Jew, this thought was simply unacceptable. They wanted a Christ of glory and they had no time for a Messiah given over to suffering. Yet Peter's early readers had been saved by just such a gospel. For the discouraged believer this reminder would likely have been greatly encouraging. The life they were living, filled as it was with trials and sufferings, mirrored the life of the Messiah, in whom they had put their trust.
The encouragement Peter had already given them would only continue to swell when they read his words in the opening line of v. 12: "It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you." These words likely did more for Peter's early readers than we can possibly imagine. Did he really say that the prophets knew that they were not serving their own generation but ours??? Did he just imply that they were aware that God had put them to work on our behalf? Any thoughts that God didn't care about them or that they had never been a part of anything great were now quieted. For Peter had shown them that the prophets were the true outsiders, not themselves. The prophets of the past were the ones kept from seeing salvation's fullness. In fact, for the most part the prophets outdid them all in having to endure rejection and loss.
Such is the reward of the prophet. They were largely rejected in their own day. They served another time. They couldn't understand salvation as clearly as they would have liked and they were often physically impaired as a result of their work. Peter's first readers no doubt were deeply humbled by this fresh consideration of salvation's past glories. The extent to which God went to secure both their and our salvation was borne with a cost, not only to Himself, not only to His Son, but it also cost the prophets greatly as well. This should humble us as well. We know nothing of this kind of suffering.
We might be right to ask or wonder what enabled God's prophets to go on? But v. 11 reveals the answer to be "the Spirit of Christ in them" who kept them going. Christ Himself is depicted as a wind blowing gently through the prophets as they told about the coming Christ. It was the Spirit of Christ who enabled the prophets to pore over their sermons and visions. It was Christ in them who kept them reading the scrolls of other prophets who had gone before. Ultimately, we could say that in this first chapter Peter has moved his readers from Eliot's wind as through dry grass to the Word and the Spirit's breath and finally then to Christ who brings life to all.
Modern Day "Elect Exiles of the Dispersion"
The word "elect" as used in Scripture simply means "chosen." Throughout the Bible chosen is the intimate term most often used to speak of those whom God loves [see Ezekiel 16:4-14 as one of many Old Testament examples]. The passage I've alluded to is a word picture of Israel becoming God's chosen through His electing love. Although born helpless and vulnerable they were given life through God's selecting love. The term elect is meant to encourage us as the church as well. It is to remind the people of God of His great love for them. And it should not be a term to be waved in front of those who have yet to know God.
Remember that the term elect, in all its grandeur, was given in the Old Testament to the entire household of Israel. Unfortunately, history shows that Israel began to presume upon God's good grace. As special recipients of His love, they believed they would always know His goodness. Over time their familiarity with God worked against them. They felt they were entitled to the good life even when their affections for God declined. Presumptuous sin became the unfortunate companion of God's elect. During the days of the kings, they turned away from God and forfeited the glory of His approval. As a result, the great nation was carried off into exile; in other words, they were dispersed by God. In 1 Peter 1:1 we see the term "exiles of the dispersion" now for the first time joined to the term elect.
Israel knew something of lost glory. They knew, all too well, that the term elect does at times stand beside the phrase exiles of the dispersion -- beloved by God, yet seemingly left alone in the world. In Peter's letter, he does not hesitate to place these terms alongside one another to identify his readers. How strange. One would have thought that putting these words together would be like mixing oil with water. Yet for Peter, it is no trouble at all.
Yet there is one major difference in the way Peter uses the terms. As his letter unfolds, it becomes clear to us that he believes his readers to be exiles of a different sort. Their exilic identity has nothing to do with Israel's sin -- or their own. Their exilic state is not the result of their disobedience to God. In fact, all the evidence in the letter demonstrates that they were living faithful and fruitful lives in obedience to Christ [see 1:2]. For Peter then the phrase elect exiles of the dispersion depicts the normative state of any follower of Jesus, so long as he or she remains in this world.
In this sense, Peter's early readers were not so very different from you and me. They were men and women who had come into relationship with God through faith in Christ and as such remained on the outside of everything in this world. C.S. Lewis stated that the normative condition of the Christian as elect exiles in this way: "At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendors we see. But all of the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in."
In Christ we are God's chosen, His elect in all the earth. And yet we are living our lives out in a complex and often confusing context. We are capable of waking up each morning with joy in our souls and going to bed dejected in spirit. Many Christians today have trouble sorting out these complexities in their identities in Christ. They have been raised to believe that a Christian should only experience the joys of being in God's elect. They have been taught nothing of our exilic state. With three simple words in the opening of this letter, Peter gives us the biblical corrective. We are "the elect exiles of the dispersion." So take heart. Be encouraged. We are those who are chosen by God AND called to live in this world. As we read further, we see Peter's desire is for us to both experience God's grace and to know His peace. But also know that we won't ever fully know all that this can truly mean until we are finally home.
Remember that the term elect, in all its grandeur, was given in the Old Testament to the entire household of Israel. Unfortunately, history shows that Israel began to presume upon God's good grace. As special recipients of His love, they believed they would always know His goodness. Over time their familiarity with God worked against them. They felt they were entitled to the good life even when their affections for God declined. Presumptuous sin became the unfortunate companion of God's elect. During the days of the kings, they turned away from God and forfeited the glory of His approval. As a result, the great nation was carried off into exile; in other words, they were dispersed by God. In 1 Peter 1:1 we see the term "exiles of the dispersion" now for the first time joined to the term elect.
Israel knew something of lost glory. They knew, all too well, that the term elect does at times stand beside the phrase exiles of the dispersion -- beloved by God, yet seemingly left alone in the world. In Peter's letter, he does not hesitate to place these terms alongside one another to identify his readers. How strange. One would have thought that putting these words together would be like mixing oil with water. Yet for Peter, it is no trouble at all.
Yet there is one major difference in the way Peter uses the terms. As his letter unfolds, it becomes clear to us that he believes his readers to be exiles of a different sort. Their exilic identity has nothing to do with Israel's sin -- or their own. Their exilic state is not the result of their disobedience to God. In fact, all the evidence in the letter demonstrates that they were living faithful and fruitful lives in obedience to Christ [see 1:2]. For Peter then the phrase elect exiles of the dispersion depicts the normative state of any follower of Jesus, so long as he or she remains in this world.
In this sense, Peter's early readers were not so very different from you and me. They were men and women who had come into relationship with God through faith in Christ and as such remained on the outside of everything in this world. C.S. Lewis stated that the normative condition of the Christian as elect exiles in this way: "At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendors we see. But all of the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in."
In Christ we are God's chosen, His elect in all the earth. And yet we are living our lives out in a complex and often confusing context. We are capable of waking up each morning with joy in our souls and going to bed dejected in spirit. Many Christians today have trouble sorting out these complexities in their identities in Christ. They have been raised to believe that a Christian should only experience the joys of being in God's elect. They have been taught nothing of our exilic state. With three simple words in the opening of this letter, Peter gives us the biblical corrective. We are "the elect exiles of the dispersion." So take heart. Be encouraged. We are those who are chosen by God AND called to live in this world. As we read further, we see Peter's desire is for us to both experience God's grace and to know His peace. But also know that we won't ever fully know all that this can truly mean until we are finally home.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Paradox of the True Believer's Life -- 1 Peter
Life is difficult. Yet this harsh truth has not always been understood by those following Jesus Christ [or by most Americans in particular]. Many Christians today have trouble sorting out the complexity of their identity and calling in Christ. They have been reared to believe that a Christian should only experience the joys of being one of God's elect. Yet they have been taught nothing of our exilic state. With three simple words as Peter opens his letter he gives us a profound clue for finding life's true horizon. We are the elect exiles of the dispersion [1:1].
How exactly did this phrase come to describe the true state of Christians in every age? "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" [1:2]. Our soul rises in joy and falls in sorrow on the same day "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." We are God's beloved, and yet we can be carried off into exile like Daniel of old "in the sanctification of the Spirit." We remain outside of the world in which we live "for obedience to Jesus Christ." And we are all these things as a fragrant offering in Christ's blood. According to Peter, we owe our full identity as "elect exiles" to the mysterious plan of God.
Throughout the Scriptures, the way up comes by going down; restoration comes after trials [5:10]. It is this inversion in attaining glory that marks Peter's theme throughout his letter. Our future inheritance and exaltation as believers -- our eternal share in the glory of Christ -- will be awarded to us on the day of His appearing. But that promised day comes only after this brief season of present-day sufferings. For suffering always precedes glory. As it was for God's Son, so it will be for us who are in Him.
This bringing together of two seemingly incompatible truths -- our status in Christ and our sufferings on earth -- is how Peter begins his letter [1:1, 2]. And in the body of the letter, these incompatible ideas are continually linked to one another. In 1:3-12 we see that an eternal inheritance is joined to various trials ... in other words salvation's future goal is built upon our present struggles as well our past glories.
Ultimately, the divine principle of "true grace" [5:12] is this: God has established our salvation, given us our identity, confirmed our present-day calling, and secured our future inheritance by means of an inverted irony -- namely, the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. Therefore, just as the exaltation of Jesus followed a season of humiliation, so too our share in His eternal glory will appear only after we have learned to follow in His true and gracious ways.
How exactly did this phrase come to describe the true state of Christians in every age? "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" [1:2]. Our soul rises in joy and falls in sorrow on the same day "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." We are God's beloved, and yet we can be carried off into exile like Daniel of old "in the sanctification of the Spirit." We remain outside of the world in which we live "for obedience to Jesus Christ." And we are all these things as a fragrant offering in Christ's blood. According to Peter, we owe our full identity as "elect exiles" to the mysterious plan of God.
Throughout the Scriptures, the way up comes by going down; restoration comes after trials [5:10]. It is this inversion in attaining glory that marks Peter's theme throughout his letter. Our future inheritance and exaltation as believers -- our eternal share in the glory of Christ -- will be awarded to us on the day of His appearing. But that promised day comes only after this brief season of present-day sufferings. For suffering always precedes glory. As it was for God's Son, so it will be for us who are in Him.
This bringing together of two seemingly incompatible truths -- our status in Christ and our sufferings on earth -- is how Peter begins his letter [1:1, 2]. And in the body of the letter, these incompatible ideas are continually linked to one another. In 1:3-12 we see that an eternal inheritance is joined to various trials ... in other words salvation's future goal is built upon our present struggles as well our past glories.
Ultimately, the divine principle of "true grace" [5:12] is this: God has established our salvation, given us our identity, confirmed our present-day calling, and secured our future inheritance by means of an inverted irony -- namely, the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. Therefore, just as the exaltation of Jesus followed a season of humiliation, so too our share in His eternal glory will appear only after we have learned to follow in His true and gracious ways.
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