Peter, The Apostle
You Are
“THE CHOSEN “
A Bible Study
– Lesson 2 –
1 Peter1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1. What is in a Word? It is easy to miss this, but, knowing Who Peter is referring to as “the God and Father” can change our perspective of relationship to and with God. Before you look at the answer, tell me, WHO you think of as THIS GOD and FATHER?
DID WHAT?
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Who according to His great mercy
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has caused us to be born again
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to a living hope
2. What is this Great Mercy?
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And what did His great mercy cause for us?
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What does it mean, really, “to be born again”?
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And, while we’re at it, what is a “Living Hope”, anyway?
HOW?
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through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
3. I’ve been told that Jesus died for my sins. What does that mean exactly? How could the death of Jesus help me get to heaven? What does the death of Christ save me from? How did Jesus’ resurrection from the dead cause you to be born again to a living hope?
WHY?
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v4 To obtain an inheritance which is
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Imperishable and
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Undefiled and
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Will not fade away,
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Reserved in heaven for you,
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4. Why has God done this? What’s expected of me, or should I ask? What’s in it for Him? Why go to all this trouble for me or for you?
WHO?
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v5 Who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed
5. What does it mean that you are “protected by the power of God”? And, what is that “power”?
WHEN?
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In the last time.
6. A mystery?
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me and let’s talk. But, please do not let this teaching go unnoticed. Understand this and acting on it is critical and the time is short!
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Back to Lesson #1 Click her for Lesson #3
God is called the Father of the stars, the heavenly luminaries, because he is their creator, upholder, ruler of all rational and intelligent beings, whether angels or men, because he is their creator, preserver, guardian and protector of spiritual beings and of all men. Christians who revere him as their reconciled and loving Father, the Father of Jesus Christ, as one whom God has united to himself in the closest bond of love and intimacy, made acquainted with his purposes, appointed to explain and carry out among men the plan of salvation, and made to share also in his own divine nature by Jesus Christ himself.
“Our Father Who is in heaven,
hallowed is your name,
Your Kingdom come,
Your Will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
And He calls you His son or daughter – You are His Child
1 Peter 1
< God & Father >
The Apostle Paul reminds us that “The penalty for our sin is spiritual death and eternal separation from God”. and, since we all have sinned we all are worthy and due to suffer this death.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (because, by His grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-10.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, asked this, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Hope keeps us going through painful experiences and fear of what the future may hold. In a fallen world where people face poverty, disease, hunger, injustice, disaster, war, and terrorism. Believers are blessed with real and substantial hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the power of God’s Word and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, this living hope quickens our minds and souls (Hebrews 4:12). It changes our thoughts, words, and actions. Once dead in our sins, we now live with the hope of our own resurrection.
Jesus is that Hope. He is alive and is our Living Hope.
1 Peter 1
< Great Mercy – Born Again – A Living Hope >
One way to understand the meaning of the death of Jesus is to imagine a courtroom scene in which we are on trial for our sins and God is the judge. Our sins against God are capital crimes. God Himself is our judge, and according to divine law our crimes deserve the death penalty. Death, in a spiritual sense, means eternal separation from God in unending torment. That’s a very serious judgment.
By shedding His blood on the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve and offered us His righteousness. When we trust Christ for our salvation, essentially we are making a trade. By faith, we trade our sin and its accompanying death penalty for His righteousness and life. And God accepts this trade and cancels our sin-debt to him and I am saved from His judgment of sin.
1 Peter 1
< The Resurrection of Christ – A Living Hope >
The first four words of verse 4 answers the question of “WHY” – Why has God done this? Listen to how crazy this sounds to the natural mind. God so loved the world, that is, you and me and the rest of us, that He sacrificed His own Son to a cruel death of a Roman crucifixion, so that whoever would believe on Jesus, would then not perish but would have eternal life – An Inheritance, imperishable, undefiled, which would not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.
(CLICK THIS LINK)
God created you, He is your eternal Father, He loves you with an unrestricted, limitless and indescribable love. That is why.
What is your part? What is expected of you? Simply accept this free gift by believing Him, following Him and let your love and gratitude to Him show in your thoughts, actions and behaviors.
Why did God go to all this trouble for us? I don’t know, except that He says He loves us that much.
What do you think? Really. Stop here and answer this to yourself and to God.
1 Peter 1
< An Inheritance for you – Reserved in Heaven >
The power of God created the universe and parted the sea, has been changing lives since the beginning of time. Having seen a fraction of it displayed in his own life, Job exclaimed, “Who can understand” it? The Bible speaks of the “incomparably great power” (Ephesians 1:19) and the “all-surpassing” (2 Corinthians 4:7) power of God.
Power is the very essence of God; it is in His divine nature. God’s absolute power, coupled with His absolute authority, allows the Lord to do “whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3), with no limitations at all.
THE POWER OF GOD (click this link)
“And this is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. the working of the strength of His might which
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He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and
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seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and
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every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
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And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:18-23
And God protects you by this, His power.
1 Peter 1
< Protected by the Power of God >
Verse Five ends with what sounds like a mystery. What is Peter saying when he tells us that “we are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”?
This actually a prophetic warning, issued by Peter, about three years earlier, found in Acts 2:14-17“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15“For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
This “revealing of a salvation in the last time” can also be seen specifically in Revelation chapters Six & Seven. Peter is telling us a mystery – a Revelation: The first Seal of the Tribulation was opened in AD 1. Successive Seals TWO through FOUR have also been broken. Seal FIVE is now being opened, and the Great and Terrible day of the Lord is close at hand. (go here for a visual)
Peter is telling us the urgency of the hour, but is also giving us the assurance that “we are protected by the Power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1
< In the “Last Time” >
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