Year 2, Week 49, Day 2 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 49, Day 2

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Titus 3; 1 Peter 1-2.

Today’s reading covers the last chapter of Titus. The Book of Titus is a personal letter of instruction to another one of Paul’s proteges, Titus, who is on the island of Crete to carry out key work among the churches. Titus 3 has a strong focus on a believer’s civic obligations: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work” (Titus 3:8). Paul grounds the ability to respond to government officials properly in the new life that the Gospel provides: “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6). Today’s reading also covers the beginning chapters of 1 Peter. The Book of 1 Peter is the first of two letters by the Apostle Peter. 1 Peter is a letter of hope to persecuted believers who are profoundly suffering. 1 Peter 1 highlights the saving work of Christ: “To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 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” (1 Peter 1:1b-2). 1 Peter 2 continues highlighting the saving work of Christ, but reaches a conclusion as to an implication as to what a believer is and what they are 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 2:9-10). Salvation does not exempt believers from persecution, but salvation does provide the perspective and purpose for how a believer is to live in the face of persecution.

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is Peter’s explanation of salvation: “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” (1 Peter 1:3). Peter gives an explanation of salvation from the vantage point of each Person of the Trinity. Peter starts with the role that God the Father played in accomplishing salvation. The Father raised His Son from the dead, thus giving all who trust in Jesus Christ the same resurrection life. While not every facet of a believer’s resurrection is fully realized at this moment, what believers do have is a hope, that is, a confident expectation of, "an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5). This hope is a guaranteed inheritance, safe and secure in the heavenly realms, in which God’s very protecting power is at work in believers preserving them in faith so that they persevere in believing until the final installments of their salvation become fully realized.

Peter’s focus shifts from the role that the Father plays in salvation to the role that Jesus plays: “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, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). The Father brings about a new birth that is manifested through a joyful faith in Jesus that loves Jesus. The faith that the Father births at the start and guards till the end, is nevertheless a faith that is tested between now and the end: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 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” (1 Peter 1:6-7). The fires of suffering, like the burning of gold in a furnace, serve to authenticate the genuineness of their faith. A genuine faith is filled with love for Jesus and joy in Jesus. Therefore, God will praise and honor those who persevere when Christ returns.

Peter’s focus, while still speaking of a believer’s salvation, shifts for a third time. Peter moves his explanation of salvation from the Father, to the Son, and now to the Holy Spirit. Peter develops two aspects of the Holy Spirit’s role in a believer’s salvation. First, Peter describes the past role that the Holy Spirit played in anticipating salvation: “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” (1 Peter 1:10-11). The Holy Spirit was a work in the prophets as the announced message of the coming Messiah. Second, Peter then describes the present role that the Holy Spirit plays in applying salvation: “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” (1 Peter 1:12). While still referencing the prophets and the role that the Holy Spirit played in their prophecies, Peters references the role that the Holy Spirit has, at present, as the Gospel message of salvation through faith in Christ is proclaimed. The Holy Spirit is presented as the preacher, not that a human preacher is not needed, but because no human preacher can bring about the new birth, which expresses itself through faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit takes human words and brings them to life: “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). It is the Holy Spirit who gives such life.

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe