THE PURPOSE OF HIS LOVE
I have no doubt the Spirit of God had in view the encouragement of the saints to whom this epistle is addressed, but my thought is that this morning we might gather up a little encouragement to ourselves. These believers had lost everything that belonged to them as Jews; they were dispersed and scattered as strangers, but the Spirit takes account of this and seeks to encourage them. Everything is brought out in the chapter in the way of contrast—designed contrast—all that had belonged to them as Jews, even the smallest particular is brought in as contrast.
Ques. They were taken account of personally?
Yes, and in a wonderful way; the very first utterance is “elect”—they were taken account of in the purpose of God. Election would not be a new thought to a Jew; as an earthly people they had been chosen—taken out—but mark the character of it here, they were “elect according to the foreknowledge of God”; that is a wonderful statement. We are very apt to take account of ourselves according to our circumstances and surroundings; circumstances are by no means to be despised, or thought lightly of; many of us are very conscious of weak physical conditions, but here is a thought full of comfort—“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God”—that takes us right back to God. I often think of the way in which God seeks to encourage His people; we seek to encourage each other by meeting need, or such like, but God’s way is to lift you up and take you in mind clean out of the whole thing; you cannot bring one thought of your circumstances into God’s election. It antedates them all. Romans 8: 29 begins with foreknowledge too, on the part of God.
Peter here, by the Spirit, takes you back to the very beginning of the chain of God’s sovereign love; it is all the purpose of His love, and it is a great thing to have the sense of that in our souls. “The foreknowledge of God the Father”, that is—the revelation of God as He has come out in the Person of His Son; it is not Jehovah, nor the Almighty, but God as Father; that is distinctive Christianity. The Father has got His own purpose, the purpose of His love from all eternity for His own satisfaction, and the Spirit sets us right down in those counsels. Then comes “sanctification of the Spirit”—this was no sanctification by external rites which a Jew would know all about, but this is something new. “Sanctification of the Spirit”—a real work of God affected in us by the Spirit. That sets the soul apart in a living way, and mark what it is “unto”—“unto the obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”. To the Jew it was obedience to the law; Moses sprinkled the blood, and the people were bound then under penalty of death to the obedience of the law; but now it is the obedience of Jesus Christ—that is, to obey as He obeyed; it is a new character of obedience, and it involves having no will—it must involve that. Look at the Lord Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane—that supreme test! What does He say?—“nevertheless not my will”, Luke 22: 42. What does He cry?—“Abba, Father”; that was the obedience of true sonship.
Rem. For “sonship” to have its place with us grace must subdue our hearts first.
Yes, I like what you say about the subduing of our hearts. With the Galatians and the Corinthians there were two things working against grace, leaven was in both in different ways. The Corinthian leaven was lawlessness, and the Galatian leaven was legality; we have the root of all in us—in the flesh. But here it is the obedience of Jesus Christ, we are to be set apart to obey as He obeyed, and His obedience was the obedience of a Son. He comes out wearing the yoke of sonship. Look at Him in Matthew 11: 25 when all is, as it were, against Him. “At that time, Jesus answering said, I praise thee, Father”. Oh, it is a wonderful expression! There is the yoke—there is your divine Leader. He says, “Learn from me”. He is Leader of salvation of the “many sons” whom He is bringing to glory.
This obedience would gather up your hearts into all the love of God, and the sprinkling would set you in the presence of God with a perfect conscience. Oh, that is a wonderful start! We want to carry these things into our pathway here; if the Spirit makes them good to us, it would be much better for us than any change of circumstances. We spend time fretting and worrying over our trials and circumstances, but God would change us by putting the light of these wonderful things into our souls. Mr J B Stoney used to say13 that there are three trials that come on saints—bereavement, loss of health, and poverty. How many of God’s beloved people find themselves thus! We need to do what Peter tells us here, to get our hearts into the thought of God’s purpose, and not worry to get our circumstances changed.
Then the apostle ends the introduction with the words, “Grace to you and peace be multiplied”. If you take account of what has gone before, it is lovely—the blessed source of the grace and peace in God Himself, it is a river ever flowing—yes, ever flowing.
Now mark the wonderful statement that follows: “God ... has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. It is not now a question of the “foreknowledge of God”; it is something that has happened in time—a fact. If we look at death we do not see exactly the same side that we see in resurrection; for instance, look at the cross, it was a scene of judgment, darkness, everything indicated divine judgment, but when God raised His blessed Son from the dead, we see His purpose beginning to take form; hence in Christ risen we have a platform raised for us, and we occupy it—“a living hope”. It is touching to see in Luke 24 those disciples reduced to hopelessness by the death of their Lord. Look at those two going to Emmaüs; when the Lord joined them, how do they talk—no hope now! Oh, no, it is all sadness; but look at the end of the chapter—what a difference! They see that something has happened—what is it? The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from among the dead; they really loved Him, and Peter cannot speak about it without bursting forth into “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who … has begotten us again”. I like that little word, “begotten us again”; it was not restoring them back, no, it is connected with One who is living in the power of an endless life—One who became dead, but who is alive for evermore; so it is a living hope. Paul thought it worthwhile to say to Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ raised from among the dead” (2 Tim 2: 8), and we need that word too. Oh, it will help you, beloved, it will stay your tears, it will help you in trial as nothing else will, to remember Jesus Christ; we do want to have our hearts tuned up into Peter’s chorus here.
The next is a long sentence but a wonderful one; the hope Peter speaks of is something very definite; it has a heavenly form, and that inheritance eclipses all the earthly ones in their brightest day; it is “incorruptible”—that is, it is not capable of being corrupted. Try to think of these things, beloved! Oh, how you would turn round with beaming faces and feel—we are better off than ever. The power was equal for the inheritance up there, and for the saints down here, but it is “through faith”. If you give way to unbelief, the devil will have his fling at you. When scripture says “kept by the power of God”, there is an end of fears and trouble; you are kept guarded by that power. Then the salvation is “ready to be revealed”, that is the wind up of it all, that will introduce you actually into the inheritance.
Now comes a wonderful drop down: “Wherein ye exult, for a little while at present, if needed, put to grief by various trials”; the drop down is to actual circumstances here, but note!—it is a “little while”; it is a comfort there is no little while about the inheritance, but when the Spirit of God touches present trial, it is for a “little while” only. If you know a thing is only for a little while, you can endure it. You know it will not last. You can put that label “little while” on all that puts us to grief here, on every trial. It is not that the trials are not real—they are very real to us; grief was very real to the Lord; He felt it all, but He “endured the cross, having despised the shame”, Heb 12: 2. He was looking onward, and that is our position regarding all that lies before us. Oh beloved, are you pressed? Have you a book full of cares?—just open your cheque-book on the bank of heaven and draw from that. Oh, the sympathy and succour that is there! the heart of the Son of God touched with the feeling of your infirmities, and how good to know it all. I would not be without it for anything. Did you ever think of your trials as they affect God? What God will get out of them? Look at it here: “be found to praise and glory and honour in the revelation of Jesus Christ”. God is going to get praise out of all your tears and sorrow. He will get a good revenue out of it. The crucible with the gold is put into the fire and heated till all the dross is consumed, and the pure gold only left. God will lift His saints out of the fiercest trials with nothing left in them but that which is for His praise. Are we willing to be burned up so that He may get the glory? May He encourage our hearts.