Seeds for 04/10/2024 - 1 Peter 1:10-12
Scripture:
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Observation:
A key feature of the whole New Testament is the essential connection between the Old Testament covenants, prophecies, and people of Israel and their fulfillment in Jesus. In the four Gospels, these connections are consistently being made. In Matthew’s Gospel, for instance, we frequently find the refrain, “so what was said through the prophet was fulfilled,” or something very similar. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul emphasizes that Christ “died for our sins according to the scriptures.”
Peter’s point is that the prophets from the days of the Old Testament foresaw that a redeemer would come one day. They understood that the promise of God pointed to a Messiah someday in the future.
Hope is a future-oriented concept and involves a present response. Hope is about who or what we believe holds the future, which tells us who or what we should trust in the present, which in turn shapes the decisions we make.
The prophets of which Peter speaks were giving the people a message of hope about an anointed Deliverer and King, sent by their God, who would come one day and set things right. To give that sort of message is to recognize that it is for your descendants, but not necessarily for you. And to see that and continue in faithful proclamation of that future hope is to recognize you are in the service of a generation yet to be.
The prophets caught a glimpse of what would one day be and they shared that Word in the service of future generations.
As we live in the light of Christ, having benefitted from their faithfulness, we can imitate their faithfulness by recognizing that the grace, hope, love, and faith that we have in Christ is ours both to enjoy and to steward. Like the OT prophets of old, we are to look beyond ourselves. Our responsibility is both to guard the doctrines and to fan the flames of authentic faith for those who come after us so that Christ may be glorified in each and every generation.
Application:
How can you serve future generations in the way you live and practice your faith in Jesus?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me appreciate those who passed down the faith to me and be faithful to invest in future generations for the sake of the Gospel. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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