"Angel with Symphonia" c 1360 in marble. Pisan 14th Century Sculptor from the Kress Collection @ The National Gallery of Art in Washington D. C.
This is the 9th post in my series on the Book of 1st Peter. The resources used in this series are sermons from Jamie Rasmussen (Senior Pastor @ Scottsdale Bible Church), Dr. Wayne Grudem's The First Epistle of Peter: An Introduction and Commentary
We have already covered a lot of doctrinal ground in the preceding 9 verses.
Peter has reminded us of our identity as children of God, pointed us to joy as we contemplate our eternal inheritance in Christ, he has drawn our attention to suffering brothers and sisters who are yet filled with joy, and has reminded us of the unspeakable joy in knowing Christ.
All of these subjects are worthy of considerable meditation.
To top off this particular section, Peter draws our attention to the angels and the prophets of old. Peter further lays out, for our consideration, that "this salvation" was infinitely beyond anything that they (angels and prophets) could have dreamed of in their wildest imaginations.
It takes meditation to let this sink in. The angels and prophets of old were blown away....they were speechless...they were beyond amazement. For thousands and thousands of years, all of creation looked towards the Messiah. Here He was....and His new covenant...totally blew them away.
Close your eyes and imagine billions and billions of angels rejoicing around the throne of God! Imagine the sound of billions and billions of angels singing and playing instruments as they are struck with awe at God's new and wondrous Salvation.
See it? Hear it?
Let's explore these final two verses and take great pleasure in imagining the scene...
Notes from Dr. Wayne Grudem's The First Epistle of Peter: An Introduction and Commentary
Dr. Grudem starts out with this:
"The purpose of this paragraph is to show Peter's readers that the spiritual blessings they now have are greater than anything that was envisaged by the Old Testament prophets or even by the angels. Thus Peter seeks to increase his readers' appreciation for their great salvation in Christ."
(vs 10) Concerning this salvation...this points us back to the salvation mentioned in the preceding verses where Peter was describing this great and unspeakably remarkable gift.
the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours...Old Testament prophets, from centuries before, told of this coming grace (New Covenant experience of salvations blessings). Meditate on that one for a bit. Centuries ago, God, through His prophets said that this was coming. And as Matthew said so many times, "it is now fulfilled".
searched and inquired carefully...the Greek term for "searched" implies far more than a casual consideration or rumination. The word implies diligent searching. Furthermore, the word "inquired" is likened, in the Greek, to rummaging through your house looking for something.
(vs 11) inquiring what person or time...here, for the third time, Peter tells us of their quest. Do you get the idea? Their prophesies of old were remarkable to them and they were desperately seeking to understand.
the Spirit of Christ in them...this refers to the Holy Spirit. Christ is Greek, whereas, Messiah is Hebrew. So calling the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, would also refer to the Spirit of Messiah for a Hebrew thinking person.
was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories...the Holy Spirit, through the prophets, was predicting the suffering of Christ and all the glories that come as a result. The glories are salvation, eternal inheritance, justification, etc., etc..
Here Dr. Grudem clears this up a bit for us:
"Peter is saying, then, that the Old Testament prophets eagerly searched and investigated their own prophesies, other Scripture, and their own times in order to find out who or what time the Spirit of Christ was indicating when he (the Spirit in them) was predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories of his kingdom. Since we now know the answers to 'Who?' (Jesus) and 'What time?' (Jesus lifetime and the subsequent church age), we should read the Old Testament prophets eagerly, expecting that our hearts will often be stirred to praise when there we discover, as a central theme, the sufferings of our Saviour on our behalf and the glories of the resultant kingdom of which we even now are members."
Beginning in Genesis, with the prediction of the seed of the woman being bruised in the heel by the serpent, the whole of the Old Testament points to Christ, his suffering, and his subsequent glories.
Isn't is remarkable? Thousands of years of testimony all coming to fulfillment in Christ, the great hinge pin of history.
(vs 12) It was revealed to them...Dr. Grudem tells us that this word "revealed" indicates divine communication. This Greek word was never used to describe human activity or communication.
they were serving not themselves but you...the Holy Spirit let them know that He was speaking about a future generation and not themselves. It must have been a bummer to hear this, but I am certain that they derived comfort from this, just as we derive comfort looking towards our future inheritance in Christ.
in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you...these things (the most significant facts in history!) the declaration that these prophesies had found their fulfillment in Jesus Christ and the establishment of his church!
by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven...refers to Pentecost.
things into which angels long to look. Here Dr. Grudem suggests that even as Peter is penning these words, angels are peeking over his shoulder, at the text and taking great delight in watching the unfolding story of God's sovereign plan.
I can't conclude this section any better than Dr. Grudem:
"Peter tells his readers: ancient prophets predicted the grace that would be 'yours' (v.10); you live in the great 'time of glories' (v. 11) which was long foretold; the prophets were in fact repeatedly ministering for the benefit of 'you'(v. 12a); and world-changing event have 'now' been proclaimed to 'you' through the working of the Holy Spirit 'sent' in epoch-changing new power from heaven (v. 12b). Though the world may think such Christians insignificant and worthy of pity or scorn (see 3:14-16; 4:4), angels - who see ultimate reality from God's perspective - find them to be objects of intense interest (v. 12c), for they know that these struggling believers are actually the recipients of God's greatest blessings and honored participants in a great drama at the focal point of universal history."
Wow! Did you get that!
If you were a struggling, persecuted Christian, and you understand fully these words, then certainly you must find joy and comfort in these words, if only you believe.
Peter brought them God's holy and divine perspective, that gives even the angels great wonder!
