Devotional on 1 Peter 1:1-2, Part 1

by John Young

I was blessed by a phone call from Pastor Geo yesterday and we talked about how we are struggling in the midst of the lack of contact and the cares of this world and he mentioned in passing how we are dispersed throughout the area and my mind immediately turned to this passage:

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.

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 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.

Obviously, the thing that drew me here was the thought that Peter is writing to the elect exiles of the Dispersion. I’d like to briefly consider those three words today and then we’ll consider the remainder of the passage tomorrow. Let’s take these words in reverse:

Dispersion- Peter is writing to a people that are dispersed. They aren’t together. This is a recurring theme in the Old Testament where Israel is scattered “in seven directions” (Dt 28:25), and “their outcasts are in the outermost parts of heaven” (Neh 1:9). 

We can relate to that. We are very mindful of the dispersion. While we are grateful to have this time God has given us, we are definitely aware of the reality that we are not together, God’s people are not together. Sure we may share experiences by listening to the word preached or see each other via a Zoom call or text or call, but we are not together. We truly look forward to that day when we can hug a neck and be together again face to face. But that longing is pointing us to a greater reality.

Israel wasn’t always dispersed, that same verse, Neh 1:9 says, “Though your outcasts are in the outermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen to make my name dwell there.” And this reality is further carried to fulfillment in Jesus when he comes again as he explains to his disciples in Mark 13:26-27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

That sense of connection that we have with one another is the tip of an iceberg that encompasses all the people of God and the glorious union we will have with our God when we see our Savior face to face—free from double mindedness, free from rivalry or jealousy, enabled to fully love one another in purity and humility, and delight in Him for Whom we were created. Instead of looking for ways to insufficiently slake the thirst of unity, it would do our souls good to instead allow that yearning to draw our hearts and minds heavenward and the hope there that awaits us.

Exiles- When we think of exiles, we think of punishment, a divine time out. Exile for Israel meant that they were removed from God’s land for a period of time and had the creature comforts of God’s blessing removed from them. This led Israel to the realization that things were not as they should be. But God promised that this would not always be the case.

In Ezekiel 11:16-17 God says through Ezekiel, “Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them from far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for awhile in the countries where they have gone.” Therefore, say, “Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”

Now, I am not saying that Coronavirus is punishment from the Lord. The connection I would like to make is that the Lord has done a remarkable thing for us in removing so many of these creature comforts and connection points to the earthly world. Right about now, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this world is not our home. The things we love sit empty: Disneyland is locked up; nary a sport is being played; a playground is not available; the bar is closed; you can’t even go to a store and buy a new outfit! The Lord has kicked away the crutches from our lives and we are dependent upon Him alone.

But our hope is not in things getting back to normal, but rather, our hope is found later on in that Ezekiel 11 passage in verses 19-20, when he brings us to himself, he “will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove their heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statues and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people and I will be their God.”

But what comfort do we have that we will be included in that number? That’s our final word to consider this morning…

Elect- He’s writing to the elect. The elect who owe their status to nothing but the Trinity which we see alluded to in v2: 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.

God the Father set his covenantal affection upon you before the creation of the world. Not because of anything done by you but strictly in accordance with his divine will (Eph 1:5) for his glory.

But this love goes beyond that to include the Holy Spirit in the work of sanctification. Therefore, we can never say that salvation is God’s work and sanctification is our work. No, God is working in our sanctification as well.

And it is a sanctification that comes about in our obedience to Christ which is brought about by that Holy Spirit work in accordance with that Ezekiel 11:19-20 passage above. That cleansing new heart and spirit we read about is granted by the sprinkling with the blood of Christ. 

Indeed these are all hopes that we have yet to realize in our awareness but it is a hope that can buoy us during these days of exile and dispersion. Praise God for the work of Christ.