P1 Celebrating the The Aseity of God

Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am the Lord, And there is no savior besides Me.

Introducing God's Aseity (A-say-i-tee)

When you read through Isaiah 43-44, you find celebrated a characteristic of God that is unique to Himself - a trait that Bible teachers call "aseity" (a-say-itee).  Theologian Dr. R.C Sproul writes concerning God's aseity: "When we affirm that God is eternal, we are also saying that He possesses the attribute of aseity, or self-existence. This means that God eternally has existed of Himself and in Himself."   God's Aseity (from a Latin word ase meaning "from oneself") refers to God's uniqueness and independence from the rest of creation as well as He being the own source of His own life.  All other beings, whether angels, people or animals, are dependent on God for their life.  The universe itself is dependent on God, since it was He who spoke it into existence. (Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 33:6).    

Why God's Aseity is so important 

1. Aseity is the essential starting place for the worship of God

To begin, Divine Aseity is important for the worship songs we commonly sing.  One of my favorite hymns that celebrates the Aseity of God is the song "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing."  The lyrics of the hymn begin as follows: "Come thou fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing Thy grace Streams of mercy never ceasing Call for songs of loudest praise". How do great songs of worship like this hymn rely on God's Aseity? The fact that God is described as a fountain means that He is His own source of blessing.  We are dependent on God for everything and celebrate the Triune God of scripture that alone is our source of life and eternal life.  Just as a fountain of water feeds itself in producing a beautiful stream of water to be enjoyed by all who look upon it, God's Aseity means all that we see of Him flows inwardly from the kind of God he is: eternal and independent of His creation.  The Apostle Paul's burst of worship in Romans 11:36 assumes God's Aseity: "For from Him and to Him and through Him are all things.  To Him be the glory for ever and ever, amen."

2. Aseity is essential to understanding God in His word

Another reason we could cite as to why God's Aseity is so important is in how the revelation of Himself to us in His Word requires Him to possess this quality.  Isaiah brings out three main titles of God: Savior (Isaiah 43:3), Creator (43:15) and King of Israel (43:15).  As you read these chapters, you find a repeated phrase that speaks of God's Aseity - namely that God is the only Lord, and there is no other, neither before nor after Him. (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6-8)  God's Aseity insures that God is the sole source of salvation, the sole source of all things as Creator and the Sole King over His people.  

3. Aseity is essential to waging war on worldliness

Isaiah then contrasts God who is Aseity to that of man made idols that are not gods at all. (Isaiah 44:9-20)  Quite the opposite of Aseity is the fact that idolatry is foolishness, since men take blocks of wood or stone and take half for firewood and half to make an image.  Those false gods cannot save, only condemn.  Furthermore, idols  cannot create but only destroy and they cannot reign but only be worthless.  The idols that we combat are those idols that come up in our hearts. Whenever we begin to think that God or Christ is not enough, and that we need to "supplement" He and His word, we have drifted into the realm of idolatry or worldliness. (1 John 2:15-17) Only when we see God in His Aseity do we realize the lie of sin, that nothing can fully complete except God alone. 

4. Aseity is essential for the work of salvation

Only the God that is Aseity, the God that is His own Source of life and eternal power, can redeem and forgive. (Isaiah 43:10-11;44:21-28)  For example, when you turn to Colossians 2, you discover two essential truths about Jesus Christ: He being fully Divine and fully man.  Take everything you just learned about God in Isaiah 43-44 and apply it to the Son, Jesus Christ.  The Lord Jesus Christ, touching His Divinity, shares the same exact qualities with the Father, being the "fulness of Deity in bodily form". (Colossians 2:9) The Son shares in the same nature of aseity as the Father, meaning  He can be regarded as the Savior, Creator and King. (Colossians 2:10-11) Equally important is the fact that the Son came to begin sharing in our humanity, meaning He could now die for our sins and raise from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-15) By being both fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ's saving work carries with it infinite value and is effectively applied to all who by grace through faith believe on Him. (Colossians 2:1-7) 

Celebrate God's Aseity.  Praise Christ today for His Aseity - the quality that makes Him an equal sharer with the Father and the Spirit and thus the source of your salvation.  Also praise Him that He came to share in your humanity so that He could shed His blood for you.   

Importance of Imitating a Good Testimony - 3 John 11-15

3 John 11-12 "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true."

Introduction:
Over the past month I have written two posts that draw material directly from the book of 3 John.  We have noted that John's main purpose in writing this shortest of all the Bible books is to detail the healthy Christian walk. John's little letter is addressed to Gaius and features two other men: Diotrophes and Demetrius.  The first post (7/20/13) was entitled "Marks of a Healthy Christian faith" and listed out three traits that we find of a healthy Christian faith from 3 John 1-8:
1. Sound Faith.                        3 John 1-2
2. Strongly Committed Faith.   3 John 3-4
3. Sharing Faith.                      3 John 5-8
In that first post we focused attention upon Gaius and noted how he emulated all three traits.  

In contrast to Gaius we looked at the life of Diotrophes in a post (7/30/13) entitled "Marks of an unhealthy Christianity, and how to cure it."  Diotrophes is the villain of John's short epistle and evidences three traits of unhealthy Christian faith in 3 John 9-11:
1. Resistance.             3 John 9
2. Rebellion.                3 John 10
3. Rottenness.             3 John 11

Gaius shows us the qualities necessary for a healthy Christian faith, whereas Diotrophes shows us what not to have.  We concluded that last post with a prescription from 2 Peter 1:4-10 for curing an unhealthy Christian faith.

The importance of imitating a Good Testimony
In today's post we aim to close out our study of 3 John by looking at the third man in John's little letter: Demetrius.  If Gaius shows us the internal qualities to have in a healthy Christian faith, then Demetrius' life illustrates a good testimony that flows from such faith.  Gaius' life illustrates the roots of healthy faith and Demetrius' life highlights the fruits of healthy faith. Therefore in today's post we will consider the topic: "The importance of imitating a good testimony." Note the following imitable qualities of a good testimony from 3 John 11-15, with the main focus on verse 12:

1. A Good Testimony should be imitated.   
3 John 11-12
John exhorts Gaius in 3 John 11 to "imitate what is good. The one who does good is of God." Diotrophes is the illustration of what not to imitate.  John mentions Demetrius to illustrate by example what a good testimony is to both Gaius and us. John is actually exhorting Gaius to consider and imitate Demetrius' testimony.  In 3 John 12 we read the following about Demetrius, namely that he "had received a good testimony from everyone." The one verb in the original language translated "had received a good testimony" is in the perfect tense, meaning that Demetrius' testimony was good from the moment he got saved and is still a good testimony even to John's present day.  Demetrius is the type of Christian whom you can rely upon and who has been consistent from the beginning of faith up until now.  

Testimonies by nature are to be of such a quality as to be imitated.  The Apostle Paul encourages this practice in Philippians 3:16-17 "however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us."  Why is it good to imitate a good testimony? Not because of the person so much as the fact of what the person is imitating.  Demetrius had a good testimony that was worthy of imitation due to the fact that he imitated scripture.   

2. A Good Testimony should imitate scripture. 3 John 12
John writes in 3 John 12 "Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself....".  Three times in this one verse is the word "testimony" mentioned.  The Apostle John himself undoubtedly would had been imitated by Demetrius, since out of all the New Testament authors, no one wrote more on the subject of testimony than John (nearly 50 times in all of his writings).  A good testimony will pattern itself after what it sees in scripture, and build its elements from the Bible.  The Bible Knowledge Commentary draws out this interesting observation about 3 John 12:
"In accordance with the Jewish law of witnesses (Deut. 19:15), the apostle adduced a threefold testimony to the character of Demetrius. (1) He was well spoken of by everyone who new him. (2) He was also vouched for by the truth itself. Here the truth is personified as a "witness" and John no doubt meant that Demetrius' character and doctrine were in such conformity with that truth that the truth itself virtually spoke on his behalf. (3) As a third line of testimony, John wrote, we also speak well of him, and you know our testimony is true." Think of how often the Bible itself instructs us to pattern our lives around its words. (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17) So if a good testimony is to be imitated and if it is marked by how it imitates scripture, then why imitate scripture? Because when you imitate scripture in your testimony, you are imitating Jesus Christ.

3. A Good Testimony should imitate Jesus Christ. 3 John 12-15 
Demetrius' testimony imitated scripture and was worthy of imitation because of the fact He aimed to imitate Jesus Christ.  How do we know that? Other scripture speaks about the imitation of Jesus Christ as being the chief mark of a good Christian testimony.  John writes the main purpose of his Gospel in John 20:31 "but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."  Later on John writes in John 21:24 "This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true."

Or consider these words about imitating Jesus in 1 John 2:6 "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."  The Apostle Peter mentions Jesus' example as the basis of our Christian testimony in 1 Peter 2:21 "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps." Then finally, consider these thoughts in Hebrews 12:2-3 "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Conclusion
John urges Gaius and us to imitate Demetrius because a good testimony should be imitated, due to the fact it imitates scripture, and thus in doing so it imitates Jesus.  This is why a good Christian testimony is so important to imitate.  

Jesus wants a non-compromising church: The Antidote to compromise - Revelation 2:12-17

Revelation 2:14-16 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the 
Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 

Review Yesterday we took a look at Jesus' third letter in the book of Revelation to the church at Pergamum - a church who had compromised.  We had noted how Jesus compared her internal problems to the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolatians, and drew parallels to the historical account of Balaam's deception of Israel in Numbers 22-25.  We saw three elements associated with compromise from that historical record: apathy, blindness and carelessness.  To illustrate how all three of these elements work together to set up somebody to compromise and ultimately fail, I give you a story told by my grandmother: the two frogs that fell into a can of cream.

Two frogs and a can of cream
Have you ever compromised in your Christian walk or do you know of a church that has compromised? Consider the two frogs that fell into a can of dairy cream.  Two frogs were playing near a can of cream one day when they suddenly fell into the can.  Unable to climb out, both frogs knew they were in trouble.  The first frog chose to be apathetic and blinded himself to the truth of the situation, carelessly remaining in his spot.  The second frog meanwhile decided to try to swim and began moving his legs as fast as he could.  The first frog picked on him and said it was a waste of time and to enjoy their new surroundings.  The cream was smooth as silk and as long as it was outside, the temperature would become more comfortable as a the day wore on.  The second frog ignored his compromising friend and soon before he knew it, his frantic swimming had caused the cream where he was at to form a pat of butter whereupon he could perch himself and hop out of the can.  Sadly the compromising frog never got to see his friend escape, for the weight of the cream had overtaken him and all that could be heard from the can was the pop of an air bubble at the place where the second frog had sunk.  Apathy + blindness to the truth + carelessness = discipline/judgment.  

Pergamum was that second frog in the can who needed to heed the warnings of her Savior who was urging her to swim by His grace and not get pulled under by the seductive lies of the teachers within her. Sadly this tendency to mix worldliness with Christianity has been amply documented throughout church history and is clearly evident today.  As John wrote in 1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

When the church compromises in its attempts to win people over, everyone stands to lose

Compromise throughout church history
In briefly commenting on the error of the Nicolaitanes in Revelation 2:15, Dr. W.A Criswell writes: "The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is a doctrine of sacramental salvation. According to that doctrine, one is converted not by the power of the regenerating spirit of God through the acceptance of the saving message of Christ, but by an act of parliment. As you are born a citizen of the state, you are christened a member of the church."1 For the first three centuries of church history, the Christian church had been persecuted like the church at Smyrna. By and large she had remained pure.  At the beginning of the fourth century a Roman Emperor named Constantine legalized Christianity, making it not only legal but intermingling it with the Roman way of life.  Constantine had experienced a supposed conversion to Christianity led him to unite the church and the empire into what would eventually become Christendom. As you move into the sixth century, the beginnings of the Roman Catholic church were well underway with the elevation of Mary and the initiation of the papacy.  By Constantine's planting of the seed and the Roman Catholic system taking root, the boundary between church and the world had been blurred.  

Compromise in the Christian world today
In our church world and culture today, we are seeing similar concessions being made.  No longer is it acceptable in many quarters to preach Jesus as the only way and the Bible as the only Divinely revealed book.  The institution of marriage, once uniformly agreed upon in all pulpits, is now being redefined and softened. I am frankly shocked at how our Christian book stores will sell and promote books written by popular evangelical authors who deny the existence of hell, the Trinity, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the exclusivity of the cross, salvation by grace through faith alone and the inerrancy of scripture.  Furthermore, the headlines of church leaders yielding to worldly pleasure and the church itself mirroring the culture in terms of divorce rates and neglect of moral and spiritual responsibilities has the marks of a Pergamum-like flavor in many churches.  

To compound the issue even further, many so-called Bible believing churches are looking increasingly to culture and the secular world, rather than the scripture for guidance in everything from counseling to leadership to communication of the Word.  I even saw one church leadership training conference, hosted by a popular evangelical leader, have as a keynote speaker an outspoken celebrity.   This celebrity in question was giving advice on church leadership and yet he himself purposefully avoids church!   Am I saying that there is no truth whatsoever to be found in non-biblical resources.  No. All truth that corresponds with scripture is God's truth and God can at times grant insight to the church from science or the culture, since he owns every square inch of truth. (Proverbs 2:6)  However the issue at hand is whether or not the guiding principles of our church or Christian lives are the chapter and verse truths that can only be found in scripture. 

As Bible teacher Dr. John MacArthur notes: "While tolerance is lauded in our modern culture, tolerating heretical teaching or sinful behavior in the church is not a virtue but a sin." 2 As we noted already: apathy + blindness + carelessness = discipline or judgment. 

How to avoid compromise and be the non-compromising church that Jesus wants
The prescription issued by Jesus in this letter to Pergamum is the only antidote we have to reversing the pattern of compromise: repent, receive and resolve.

1. Repent - Revelation 2:16.  
Repentance is when I have a change of heart away from my sin to running full speed into the arms of Jesus. When we have grown apathetic, seek Jesus to reignite the opposite affection - love. Whenever you and I have blinded ourselves to doctrine and the truth of scripture, run to Jesus who is the fullness of grace and truth. (John 1:14) Whenever we have become careless in our morals and decisions, run to Jesus to become vigilant in living for Him. (Ephesians 5:14)

2. Receive. Revelation 2:17a
Receive the word.  Receive what the Spirit is saying to the churches.  Ask Him to give you the ears to hear so that you may freely receive all that He has for you. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

3. Resolve. Revelation 2:17b
Resolve.  That is - make a firm decision to not go back.  Jesus closes this letter with an exhortation and encouragement to overcome and draw closer to Him.  Thus resolve to draw nourishment from Jesus, the hidden manna, bread of life ("the hidden manna" of Revelation 2:17 corresponds to John 6:48-50).  Resolve to trust in Him, your precious stone that alone grants you admittance into the favor of God. ("the white stone" of Revelation 2:17 reminds one of the "precious stone" of 1 Peter 2:7).  Resolve to ever focus on His name, outside of which no salvation or hope can be found. (Acts 4:12 corresponds most likely with the name written on the stone in Revelation 2:17). Repent. Receive. Resolve. This is the three-fold antidote to compromise issued by the Great Physician.  May we by faith take it in and be the non-compromising Christians and church that He wants.  


Endnotes:
1. W.A Criswell. Expository Sermons on Revelation. Volume 2. Zondervan. Page 138.

2. John MacArthur. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary - Revelation 1-11. Moody. 1999. Page 89

P1 Jesus wants a non-compromising church - Revelation 2:12-17

Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this".

Introduction
As we have been making our way through the Book of Revelation, we have in recent weeks been exploring the kind of church Jesus wants.  In Revelation 2:1-7 we met the church at Ephesus, and found Jesus rebuking her for losing her "first love", discovering the fact that Jesus wants a loving church.  Then in our study of the church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11 we found Jesus commending her for her courage in trials, concluding that Jesus also wants a church full of courageous faith.  In today's post we will begin considering the third church addressed by Jesus in Revelation 2:12-17 - the church at Pergamum.  

Pergamum - The Cultural and Political Capitol of Asia Minor
Pergamum was the capitol city of the province of Asia Minor, prompting commentator Steve Gregg to compare it to the Washington D.C of its day.1  Pergamum was famous for its ancient collection of 200,000 books and was known for being the center of pagan worship - most notably the worship of the Roman deity of healing - Aesculapius.  Symbolized by a snake, the temple of Aesculapius featured a large room full of non-poisonous snakes that would crawl on hopeful worshippers lying on its floor who believed that contact with the serpents would yield forth healing. In addition to the local pagan customs, Pergamum, like the two other cities we have studied thus far (Ephesus and Smyrna), was a stronghold for Roman Emperor worship.  Anyone living there who opposed such systems would had been barred from buying or selling.  

Meet the Church at Pergamum - The church of Compromise
Pergamum the church was a church that attempted to straddle the fence so-to-speak.  On the one hand she was a church who had in recent memory held fast to the faith and had endured spiritual and cultural pressure. (Revelation 2:12-13).  In may ways her actions were noteworthy being that she was in a place that Jesus termed "the place where Satan's throne is". (Revelation 2:13)  However despite her early efforts, Pergamum had come to tolerate the presence and teaching of leaders and heresies that Jesus identifies as the teachings of Balaam (Revelation 2:14) and the Nicolatians (2:15).  In short, Pergamum had come to compromise, and what Jesus was desiring above all else was for Pergamum to stop compromising lest He came and dealt with the erroneous teachers with the sword of His mouth. (Revelation 2:17).  

The recipe for Compromise 
So what exactly was Pergamum doing that led Jesus to rebuke her so sharply? The clues to her defection comes from the historical parallel Jesus makes between Pergamum's compromise and the pagan prophet Balaam in Numbers 22-25.  The tragic story of compromise that Israel did as a result of Balaam''s efforts casts much light upon what went on at Pergamum.  Israel had just won a hard fought victory against two mighty kings.  According to Numbers 22:1, they were camped on the plains of Moab, undoubtedly getting a well-deserved rest.  The Moabites did not like the mighty Israelites camping in their backyard, and so their King, Balak, hired Balaam, a pagan prophet, to deliver curses against Israel.  What follows in the remainder of the account gives the A,B,C recipe for compromise:

Apathy
Israel should had known that the Moabites (and the Moabite's allies, the Midanites) were up to something since Israel had just won a major battle against two other major enemies.  Once Balaam had agreed to work with Balak in pronouncing curses, he set up an altar of sacrifice not once, not twice but three times. (Numbers 23:6, 13; 25:1). Each time Balaam performed his religious ritual and attempted to curse Israel, God restrained his madness and the result was Balaam blessing rather than cursing. (2 Peter 2:14-16) As you read the account of Balaam's efforts, he keeps getting closer and closer to Israel.  In comparing the places where Balaam did his dirty work in relationship to where Israel was camped, only a few miles separated them.  They would had seen the column of smoke rising up from Balaam's altars.  He may very well had been within visual range and most certainly the Israelites would had been briefed on what to look for whenever a suspected enemy was spying on them.  Nevertheless the text is silent on their response in Numbers 22,23 and 24.  The silence tells us that they did nothing to suppress the impending threat.  The church at Pergamum is described by Jesus as "having some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam." (Revelation 2:14)  Having something you know is not right in your life means you have at some point chosen not to do anything about it.  Apathy is the first ingredient in compromise.  

Blindness
If apathy in one's attitude marks the first step toward compromise, then blindness to doctrine is certainly the next logical step.  In Numbers 25:2 we read - "For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods." How could Israel do such a thing? They had been following Moses for 40 years.  They had enjoyed a major victory and saw God do mighty miracles.  Yet they turned a blind eye to doctrine.  

Israel ignored the second commandment on avoiding idolatry and they forgot who they were and Whose they were.  This episode in Israel's history caused 24,000 people to die. (Numbers 25:9)  To purposefully blind oneself to doctrine means I refuse to be informed on the God Whom I am to love and the identity He has expressed about me in His word. 

The church at Pergamum was tolerating the Balaamites and the Nicolatians who both taught the blending together of Judaism and Christianity with Paganism.  The Apostle Paul in reflecting upon this very same episode in Israel's history writes in 1 Corinthians 10:12 "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall."  What you and I believe ultimately determines how we will live. To neglect God's word and sound doctrine means to neglect God and sound living.  If we choose to be apathetic to everything, and blind ourselves to all things, we will end up being about nothing.  Compromise is a terrible state for a Christian and for a church to fall into, and Jesus wants us to avoid it at all costs.  

Carelessness
Once more we turn to the sequence of events in Numbers, noting Numbers 25:6 "Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting."  Like watching a train wreck, the inevitable progression reaches a boiling point.  First there was apathy on the part of Israel to the sneaky efforts of Balaam and King Balak. That apathy in the heart led to blindness to doctrine in the mind.  Once those two steps had occurred, carelessness in the realm of morality was the result.  A man of noble stock in Israel, a son of one of the main tribal leaders, was brazen in his immorality, parading a Midianite woman in the midst of what would had been the equivalent of a solemn church service.  How could this be? How could had it gotten this far? Well it did.  A young lad by the name of Phineas ended up executing the ungodly couple, staying the plague that would had wiped out Israel no doubt. (Numbers 25:8-15)

Why is it that we grow lax in the areas of moral purity? One word - carelessness. The same three elements of apathy, blindness and carelessness that had characterized ancient Israel was operating full swing at Pergamum.  She was in denial, and Jesus had to rebuke her lest those in her membership holding to the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolatians be dealt with severely by Him. (Revelation 2:16)

More tomorrow.... 

Endnotes:
1. Steve Gregg. Revelation: Four Views - A Parallel Commentary. Nelson. 1997. Page 68

Living the Life of Grace - 1 Peter 2:11-5:14

1 Peter 2:11-12 "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify Godin the day of visitation."

Review:
Yesterday we considered 1 Peter 1:1-2:10 as an unfolding of God being the Source of Living Grace for the Christian life.  We discovered that:
1. God the Father eternally planned living grace
2. The Holy Spirit effectively applies living grace
3. The Son embodies living grace

Peter writes at the end of 1 Peter 5:12 that we need to "stand firm" in the grace of God that he writes about in this letter.  His testimony and ministry are centered on the grace of God, and his pen under the Spirit's divine inspiration explains this living grace for the Christian life.  In today's post we will consider the remainder of 1 Peter 2:11-5:14 to see how we are to live out the Christian life of grace as we draw from the Triune God, the living source of grace.  

Living the life of grace while relying on God
1 Peter 2:11-5:14
Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:12 "Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."  What behaviors are being promoted by Peter? Is he simply telling us to "try harder, do better and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps? Hardly! Without the proceeding Living source of grace, the Triune God Himself in 1 Peter 1:3-2:10, the grace-based behaviors of 1 Peter 2:11-5:14 cannot be carried out.  What is a life dependent upon God's grace supposed to look like and do? Living the Life of grace means:

1. Submission to authority, both human and Divine. 1 Peter 2:13-25

2. Solid Marriages. 1 Peter 3:1-12

3. Suffering for the glory of God. 1 Peter 3:13-24; 4:1-6; 4:12-19

4. Sound Mindset. 1 Peter 4:7-11

5. Strong Churches. 1 Peter 5:1-14

Closing thoughts
Phillip Shaff, the eminent church historian writes the following words about the grace for Christian living in 1 Peter: "The First Epistle of Peter, dated from Babylon, belongs to the later life of the apostle, when his ardent natural temper was deeply humbled, softened and sanctified by the work of grace." Shaff later on writes: "It gives us the fruit of a rich spiritual experience and is altogether worthy of Peter and his mission to tend the flock of God under Christ, the chief shepherd of souls." 1 May we as Christians live the life of grace as we ever depend upon the Triune God, the Living source of grace.  As 1 Peter 5:14 states - "Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"

Endotes:
1. Phillip Shaff. History of the Christian Church - Volume 1. Page 338

1 Peter 1:1-2:10 - The Living Source of Grace in 1 Peter 1:1-2:10

1 Peter 5:12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 

For the past several weeks we have been periodically looking at grace through the lens of the life of the Apostle Peter.  We first noted on August 16, 2013 a testimony of grace through an overview of Jesus' calling and installation of Peter as a disciple and apostle in the Gospels and Acts.  Next on August 17 we looked at God's healing of the man at the Beautiful gate through Peter's ministry to him in Acts 3:1-10, entitling that post "Peter - the miraculous nature of grace".  In July 29th post we noted Peter as an illustration of a ministry of grace by way of his sermon on the aforementioned miracle in Acts 3:11-4:4.  Through the calling, preaching and ministry of the Apostle Peter, we saw grace as a testimony, a miracle and a ministry.  

In today's post we once again look into the life of the Apostle Peter through his actual writings.  Of interest today is Peter's message of grace in 1 Peter as we consider the Living Source of grace as being God Himself in 1 Peter 1:1-2:10.  

Identifying the main verse, outline and theme of 1 Peter
Main verse of 1 Peter
From the opening statement above, we know that without a doubt grace is from God, through God and to God.  As Peter writes in what I would consider to be the chief verse of his first epistle, 1 Peter 5:12 - "Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"  

The main outline of 1 Peter
This one verse gives to us a two-fold outline by which we can understand 1 Peter: namely when he is speaking of "the true grace of God", He is speaking of God being the Living Source of grace in 1 Peter 1-2.  Likewise when he then states about the need to "stand firm in it!", he is dealing with the practical living out of such grace in 1 Peter 3-5.   

The main theme of 1 Peter: Living Grace for the Christian Life
From what we can tell of the whole message of 1 Peter, it is none other than the Living Grace for the Christian life.  Robert Leighton, the great Bible commentator (1611-1684) writes these words concerning the theme of grace in 1 Peter: "The grace of God in the heart of man, is a tender plant in a strange, unkindly soil; and therefore cannot well prosper and grow, without much care and pains, and that of a skillful hand, and which hath the art of cherishing it.  For this end hath God given the constant ministry of the word to His church, not only for the first work of conversion, but also for confirming and increasing of his grace in the hearts of his children." 1

God the Living Source of Grace - 1 Peter 1:1-2:10
1 Peter 1:1-2 gives us a compact outline of 1 Peter 1:1-2:10 - "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens,scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."  These Christians were scattered and spread throughout the wide and roaming domains of the ancient Roman world.  They needed encouragement and comfort - Peter had the message: Living Grace for the Christian life.  As you can see in 1 Peter 1:2, the Triune God is identified as The Living source of such grace.  Grace is God doing for you what you otherwise could never do for yourself.  Note how 1 Peter 1-2 unfolds the Triune God as being the Living Source of Grace:

The Father Eternally planned Living Grace
1 Peter 1:3-9
As Peter notes in 1 Peter 1:2, God's grace originated in eternity by the foreknowledge of the Father as He planned it and communicated it in the shared glory He has always had with the Spirit and the Son.  This agreed upon effort between the Father, Son and Spirit is what theologians call "The Covenant of Redemption" and is spelled out more fully in passages such as Ephesians 1:4-12 and Hebrews 13:20.  The Father eternally planned Living grace for Christian living. 

The Holy Spirit Effectively applies Living grace 1 Peter 1:10-16; 22-25
Peter then writes in 1 Peter 1:2 about the "sanctifying work of the Spirit".  The work in question refers to the Spirit's effort to convict, call and set apart sinners loved by the Father to position them to repent, believe and be saved from their sins. (Acts 3:19) By applying living grace at saving faith, the Spirit effectively applies to believers the graces of justification, adoption unto sonship and forgiveness. (Romans 3:24-5:5; 8:16-17)  In other places in scripture, the sanctifying work of the Spirit speaks of the process by which the Spirit is making the believer more like Jesus as the believer gives themselves to the scripture, prayer and regular time with God's people. (John 17:17; Ephesians 4:12-13; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 10:24-25).  So God the Father Eternally planned Living Grace, the Spirit Effectively applies living grace and the Son embodies living grace.

The Son embodies Living Grace.  1 Peter 1:18-21; 2:1-10
Peter writes on in 1 Peter 1:2 "to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."  Jesus Christ is identified in the New Testament as the embodiment of Grace, being that He is God in human flesh. (John 1:14; Titus 2:11)  1 Peter 1:18-21 and 2:1-10 reveals the details of the Son's act and accomplishment of Living Grace in salvation.  

More tomorrow.........

Endnotes:
1. Robert Leighton. Commentary on First Peter. Reprinted by Kregel. 1972. Page 9