Well, good morning to everyone. Thank you, Andrew, for leading us this morning. 

We're gonna start a new study this morning. We finished the book of Galatians and Philemon, and now we're going to begin a study of 1st Peter. The context of this letter is set among the believers who were dispersed. They were dispersed in the Gentile regions of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These were Jewish believers who are living among the Gentiles, among the pagans. 

We read in the book quite explicitly that they were experiencing persecution. This was the main issue that was going on, and the main intent of this letter is to encourage the suffering believers as to how to endure their persecution and remain faithful as witnesses of God, glorifying God in their time on this earth, all the while continually looking forward to the fulfillment of their hope—the promise of glorification at the coming of Christ. 

Peter begins in chapter 1 with marvelous teaching about the salvation that they already possess. He encourages them with the great truths about the origin of their salvation through faith in Christ, the security and assurance of this salvation, and the ultimate end of this eternal life that they already had through faith in Jesus. He points them to their hope, to the grace of God, the provision of God, the faithfulness of God to those who are His. He gives them the purpose for their suffering and God's will accomplished in it. He talks about the trials that they now endure and the assurance that comes from God bringing them through these things. 

Peter wants every believer to know who he is and the inheritance that he has in Christ and to think on these things, to set their mind on these things, and their hope fully on the grace of God and the fullness of their salvation at the revelation of Jesus Christ. He tells them about the church of which they are a part, how they were redeemed, and what God is building from these living stones. He encourages them to live in light of these truths, holy lives, and consistency with who they are because of the regenerative work of God in their lives at salvation.

In the last half of chapter 2 and most of the rest of the epistle, Peter teaches us a most fascinating truth: that the key to enduring trials, to persevering in unjust suffering, is to have an attitude of submission, to entrust ourselves to Him who judges righteously, and to obey those in authority over us. Jesus is the premier example of this. Peter shows us this in chapter 2, for no man has ever suffered so unjustly nor been so submissive to the Father's will. In this, God has accomplished fully and finally our salvation as Jesus, the just one, died for the unjust in order that He might bring us to God.

This is a rich and wonderful letter, and it has a tremendous amount of application for the church today. We find ourselves living among the pagans, dispersed throughout this world, strangers and sojourners walking through a world that is not our home. We see the injustice of our world waxing worse and worse, and the hatred for Jesus seems to be growing. It may be that even here we may soon see a greater and greater persecution, unjust suffering on the part of those who identify with Jesus. 

This letter is meant to prepare us for that eventuality, in whatever form or degree it takes for us. God knows. This letter teaches us about who we are and what we have in Jesus—our true hope, and the promise of God, our salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. It teaches us about the importance of our witness among the pagans and the truth that we must follow in the footsteps of Jesus with an attitude of submission in all our relationships in this world, ultimately in all things, entrusting ourselves to the One who judges righteously. 

Let's look at this text in 1st Peter 1. We're not going to get very far today, but I'm going to read those first 12 verses: 

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into."

I've given you four points on your outline: first, author; second, audience; third, assurance; and fourth, application. 

Well, first in our text, we see the author. Peter was the Apostle to the Jews, although he was the first to take the gospel to the Gentiles and to come to understand that God was bringing salvation to Jew and Gentile through faith in Jesus Christ. Peter was called to go to his people, to the Jews. In Galatians 2:7, Paul wrote, "But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter; for he who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles." 

In Mark 1 at verse 16, we see Jesus choosing Simon and his brother Andrew. He was walking by the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 

Peter becomes the leader of the twelve. You'll notice each time the twelve are listed by name, Peter is always listed first, and we find him always being the one who speaks for the rest. He's sometimes impetuous, sometimes hasty, but he's also the raw material of a good leader, and Jesus has great plans for Cephas from the moment He chooses him as an apostle. 

When we think about Peter's growth in grace and truth, it's somewhat of a bumpy road, and Peter suffers along the way. He has a great moment in Matthew 16, only to be followed by a great failure. Turn over to Matthew 16 with me, and we'll look at that at verse 13. 

Matthew 16:13 says, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?'" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 

Well, Jesus says in verse 18, "You are Petra's a piece, a chunk of the stone, and on this Petra, a massive rock, rock bed foundation, I will build my church." Here He calls Simon Peter the rock, and it is his confession of faith in the previous verse that is the rock bed foundation of the church. It was a monumental moment. Peter has correctly announced that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and Jesus said he was blessed. 

But then the next thing we read is in verse 21, where it says, "From that time, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day." Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now, let me rebuke you! Far be it from you, Lord. This shall not happen to you." 

But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God but of the things of men." This is how it went for Peter: full of faith, passion, zeal, ready to die for Jesus, but then failure—fear, denying Him three times before the cock crowed. 

Peter was the leader of the twelve. He was the Apostle to the Jews. He was the great preacher that emerged on the day of Pentecost when they received the Holy Spirit, and from that time, he was a powerful preacher, leading thousands to faith in Jesus. He was faithful all the way until his martyrdom, crucified for the cause of Christ in the gospel that he preached. 

Peter was a man like us, and we love him, I think, because we can so identify with him in all of his failures and stumbling. Yet Jesus restored him even after he denied Him three times. "Simon, do you love me? Do you love me? Simon, do you love me? Feed my sheep." And this is what Peter did. This is what he was doing in these words before us. 

In 2nd Peter 1:12, Peter says, "For this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease."

In this first letter as well, Peter teaches us about our salvation. He teaches us about our Savior, about our security, about our suffering. And in all of this, he points us to our Father and implores us to cast all of our cares upon Him because He cares for us—to entrust ourselves to Him because He judges righteously. You know, I think about that. I don't always judge righteously, even concerning myself, but I can always trust God to judge righteously. We need to have an attitude of submission in obedience to our Heavenly Father, who knows what is best for us and always keeps His promises. 

This is the way to suffer with endurance, to be fruitful, and to have peace and joy in the midst of this world as we wait for the great day when Jesus will come to take us to the Father's house. 

So this is the author, Peter. Next, we see the audience—the persecuted Jews of the Diaspora. In verse 1, it says, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." 

This word translated "dispersion" is very interesting. It's used in John 7:35 and James 1:1 as well. In John 7, Jesus is talking about going away, but not in the way the crowd understood. In verse 35, they said, "The Jews said among themselves, where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?"

James starts his epistle this way: "James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad." The word "Diaspora" refers specifically to Jews who lived outside of the land, who were scattered among the Gentiles. So what we know for sure is that Peter's audience was Jewish believers living among the Gentiles in the region of Asia Minor. 

We also know that these brothers and sisters were experiencing persecution. It may or may not have been that they were dispersed by the persecution. It may have been that they were residing in these areas, and the persecution had come to them. Historically, we think of the term "Diaspora" as a dispersion of the Jews through persecution. 

In Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God promises these events. In Leviticus 26, it says, "I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you. Your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste." 

In Deuteronomy 4, He says, "Take heed to yourselves lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land and act corruptly and make carved images in the form of anything and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess. You will not prolong your days in it, but you will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you, and there you will serve gods, the works of men's hands—wood and stone which neither see nor hear nor smell."

Here's a quote from the Jewish Virtual Library concerning the Diaspora. A little history lesson here says, "The Jewish state comes to an end in 70 A.D. when the Romans begin to actively drive Jews from the home they had lived in for over a millennium. But the Diaspora, dispersion or scattering, had begun long before the Romans even dreamed of Judea. When the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 B.C., the Hebrew inhabitants were scattered all over the Middle East. These early victims of the dispersion disappeared utterly from the pages of history; however, when Nebuchadnezzar deported the Judeans in 597 and 586, he allowed them to remain in a unified community in Babylon. 

Another group fled to Egypt, where they settled in the Nile Delta. So from 597 onwards, there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: one in Babylon and other parts of the Middle East, a group in Judea, and another in Egypt. Thus, 597 is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora. And while Cyrus the Persian allowed the Judeans to return to their homeland in 538, you'll remember from the book of Daniel that most of them chose to stay in Babylon. 

So later on, in 63, Judea becomes part of Rome, and then in 70 A.D., we see the tragic end. They destroyed Jerusalem, dispersed them out. After 73 A.D., Hebrew history would only be the history of the Diaspora, as the Jews and their worldview spread over Africa, Asia, and Europe. 

Well, it may have been that the persecutions that Peter speaks of were related to the officially sanctioned Roman persecutions that followed the great fire set by Nero in July of 64. You remember that Nero set Rome on fire because he wanted to rebuild it—played the fiddle while Rome burned and so forth. Then he needed a scapegoat, so he blamed the Christians, and a great persecution broke out. This letter was written, this first epistle of Peter, was written about this time in 64 or 65 A.D. 

But it seems more likely that the believers to whom he writes were about to experience this state-sanctioned persecution. For now, in 1:6, Peter writes "various trials." He says in 3:14 that they were persecuted for righteousness' sake, in 4:12 he speaks of a fiery ordeal, and in 4:14, they were reproached for the name of Christ. If you look at the map on the back of your outline, you can see Italy on the far left there and then Pontus, Galatia, and so forth over on the right. 

In view of the vast territory and varied cultures and religions of the people living in these provinces, I think it can be concluded that the sufferings endured by the recipients of 1st Peter included a large range of experiences. Peter uses Christ's suffering as a paradigm for the Christians in his experience. Pontus was 1789 miles from Rome if you look on that map. So certainly, it would have taken some time for persecution to spread to these regions or persecuted Jews to spread to these regions from Rome after the fires of the summer of 64 under Nero. 

Peter says in chapter 5 that he writes from Babylon. There's a lot of discussion as to where this Babylon is. Many scholars conclude that it's a code word for Rome in light of all the persecution that was happening there, although a case can be made for Jerusalem as well. So regardless of all these details, Peter was writing to Jewish believers living in Gentile areas who were suffering persecution, and they needed to understand how they could endure unjust suffering because of their identification with Jesus, so that they might be a witness for the gospel and bring glory to God. 

This makes this letter very applicable for us today in much of our world that presently is experiencing persecution and certainly what is to come, perhaps in the near future. This epistle has some amazing lessons for us on how to be fruitful for the cause of Christ and flourish even in the midst of persecution in this foreign land in which we live. 

So we see the author, we see the audience; now let's look at our assurance. I want you to look at some of the words in chapter 1. In verse 2, Peter says, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." This is the origin of our salvation. "In sanctification of the Spirit," this is the work of the Holy Spirit setting us apart for obedience and faith, and "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" is the ratifying of the covenant. Peter's using a lot of Old Testament sacrificial language in this epistle as he writes to these Jewish believers. 

Look at verse 3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible." The emphasis here is on the word "inheritance." We have an inheritance because we are identified with Jesus Christ, and this inheritance is incorruptible. It's undefiled; it does not fade away. It's reserved in heaven for you. 

And you are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. He says you rejoice in this, even though you're experiencing these trials. And the reason you're experiencing these trials—the trials which are actually an affirmation of your faith—is that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

He says even the prophets looked into this salvation that they prophesied, carefully trying to understand the very things they wrote and what those things meant. God prophesied this hundreds and hundreds—now thousands of years ago—to them it was revealed, it says, not to themselves, but to us. We see the fullness of these things in Jesus Christ. 

We're gonna look more closely at these marvelous truths over the coming weeks as we slowly work through these 12 verses, but what amazing assurance these words bring to us! Elect according to the foreknowledge of God, an inheritance in Christ, born again to a living hope, kept by the power of God, salvation reserved in heaven for you, just waiting to be revealed. 

Even trials and tribulations—the very persecutions they were enduring—were proof of their faith and their security in Christ, working out their salvation, testing, proving their enduring faith. The first chapter is all about what we have and who we are in Christ, and it's Jesus that gives us assurance, even in the midst of this corrupt, pagan world of problems and persecutions in which we live. 

"In this world, you will have trouble," Jesus said, "but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." My friends, Jesus is our hope. Jesus is our confidence, our assurance because of what He has done, what He is doing each day, and what He has promised to do. 

Peter wants us to understand our great salvation and to persevere with confidence in Jesus. He wants us to commit ourselves to God. He wants us to cast all of our cares upon Him and to rest our hope fully on His grace. We don't always know what to do, but we always know that we can trust God and that God does what is best for us and that we can find answers and instruction in His word. 

We see the author, the audience, we see our assurance, and finally, we see a great application. Verse 13 of chapter 1 says, "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 

"Since you have purified your souls," verse 22, "in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the Word of God, which lives and abides forever." 

In chapter 2 at verse 9, Peter tells us we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. Why? For the purpose that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 

"Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims," verse 11, "abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may buy your good works which they observe glorify God in the day of visitation." 

Chapter 4, verse 1: "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." 

Do you see the application of our salvation? Verse 12: "Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you." Don't listen to Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland. You're not living your best life now either! If this is your best life, this is a problem. 

Don't think it's strange when suffering and persecution comes, but rejoice to the extent that you may partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. 

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him because He cares for you. Peter has a clear message for us. Just as those Jewish believers to which he wrote in this epistle are strangers and sojourners in a foreign land living among the pagans, he wants us to understand that we, as those identified with Jesus Christ, those who desire to live godly in this ungodly age, will suffer persecution. 

In fact, to this very thing, we have been called, he says. We have been called to unjust suffering. The question is, how will we respond? How will we endure? And the answer is to entrust ourselves to God, to commit ourselves to Him, and trust Him with all of the details. 

We are to understand that God has designed authority—submission in relationships within government, with employment, within the family, even in the Godhead. We are to endure persecution and suffering in this world with a submissive attitude, handing ourselves and our circumstances over to God, casting all of our cares upon Him. He is our Father. He always does what is best for us. He is in control of all things.

He's brought us to the Word of God, the gospel. He's brought faithful witnesses to bring us that message. He saved us. He's caused us to be born again and become new men, and now we are to live for Him. 

We're to live such a good life among the pagans that by doing good, we may be a powerful witness to the life-transforming power of the gospel. We are to glorify God in all that we do, and we are to live in consistency with who we now are. We are to depend on the grace of God one day at a time, one moment at a time, abiding in Christ. 

We are to look forward with eager anticipation to our hope—the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls. My friends, as we walk through this dangerous, corrupt, sinful world where Satan prowls about seeking whom he may devour, we have to rest our hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Peter has some important truths to teach us concerning our salvation, concerning our hope, our relationships with others in this world, and our role as witnesses living a holy life in Christ, and how it is that we can endure suffering with patient perseverance, bringing glory to God. I’m excited to study these things with you. I think this first chapter is one of the most powerful and encouraging and appropriate texts for our time. So I look forward to going through this tremendous letter for our growth and edification. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for Your Word, for Your truth. We’re thankful for this place, for the like precious faith that we have in Jesus. We're thankful for the privilege of living for You, serving You, being Your witness, of bringing truth to lost men that they might believe and be saved. And we're thankful for the hope, the hope that we have in Jesus, the promises that we have in Him. Thank You that You're our Father. We can trust You and believe You. We know that You will do what's best for us in accomplishing Your will and bringing us to glory. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.