Salvation: A Christ-Centered Grace - 1 Peter 1:10-12

1:23And so the content of the first 12 verses is all about salvation. We have seen that your salvation involves a glorious election, it involves a living hope, and it involves a vibrant faith. And adding to this in these final two verses, salvation involves a Christ-centered grace, a Christ-centered grace. But perhaps a more basic question to ask is: what is salvation? We come to this section of Scripture with preconceived ideas of what faith is, what election is, and even what salvation is. And we must be careful not to impose something that is not true of salvation. So, what is salvation? Well, let me say it like this. How many of you remember in school? I don't know if any of you guys ever had these class discussions on situational ethics that were about a boat, and there were five people on the boat, and you only had enough food for four people, and there was a pregnant woman, and there was a young man, there was a smart man, and there was always this old geezer, right, that just couldn't, he ate too much, he wasn't really useful. So, the situation was: what do you do with this, or how do you get rid of one of them to survive? Who do you get? Rid of. So, I don't know if any of y'all ever, I don't know if they were doing some kind of social engineering or social, but there is some very warped situational ethics. Of course, the right answer to that is you pray to God because the whole situation is that there is a God in heaven. He hears the prayers of his people. He does deliver, and if he's not, we're not going to kill somebody anyway. That's the right answer. Well, I'm going to kind of create my own scenario on a similar vein. We've got a boat, we've got five people, we've got enough food for four people, and there is this old geezer on there, and he has got lung cancer, he's a chronic smoker, he's a cantankerous person, and then behind this boat, there's all these sharks, and then the question is: who do you get rid of? So, these four people decide, well, we're going to get rid of the old geezer, and they throw him out. Now, what is it going to take to save this guy that's now been thrown out of the boat? Well, first of all, someone in the boat is going to have to have a change of heart, right? He's going to have to be delivered from the sharks. So, they're going to have to reach in, pull this guy out, and then he's got a problem because there's not enough food, so the person who saved him is going to have to give him his food. But then there's a deeper problem because the guy has lung cancer, and he's going to die anyway, so he needs to be saved from that. But not only that, he's a chronic smoker, so he needs to be delivered from that. You kind of get the picture that salvation is a lot more than just being saved from the sharks, right?

4:30In fact, our whole understanding of salvation really needs to begin in Exodus. In Exodus 14, if you'll remember the situation, there is the Israelites have come out of Egypt. God has plagued the Egyptians, have pushed them to the limit. They have let Israel go. They have come out. And now between them, they've come to the sea. And then here comes Pharaoh's army in pursuit. Now that's a rough situation to be in. And this is what we read in Exodus 14, verse 13. But Moses said to the people, Do not fear. Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.

5:27And then, sure enough, the sea consumes them all. And in 15, 2, Moses sings, The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. And then in verse 15, he goes on to say, In your loving kindness, you have led the people whom you have redeemed. In your strength, you have guided them to your holy habitation. So at the very outset, salvation is from everything that harms the human soul. It's not just deliver. From a political enemy, it's not just deliverance from the enemies of the body, but man has a sickness. Look, if salvation were merely political, and if salvation were merely having your enemies put away, the Bible would have ended at the point of the Exodus. They're out. They're good. God delivered them. It's over. But there was a lot more problem with the nation of Israel, was there not? They had a sickness, they had a cancer. You and I have this same cancer. It's called self-will.

6:35And self-will is a terminal disease, it is sin. That is the disease that we are chronically going our own way. And that is the disease, a self-will disease. And so, coming back to 1 Peter, there are two salvations in view in these first 12 verses. In verse 5, there is a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Do you see that? Who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time? There is a great eschatological future salvation that is being mentioned here. You see, humanity is in great peril.

7:25All are on a collision course for divine law. And righteous fury. That's where the person without Christ is going. They're running headlong into divine law, to the divine bar, and they're going to suffer righteous fury. And listen, if you don't know Christ, you're not ready for that. But then there's another salvation that's also being mentioned in these sections. Look at verse 9. And this is a present salvation. You see, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. There is a salvation that is here and now, a salvation from the penalty of sin, from the crushing guilt of sin, and from the conforming power of sin. All that is present. So there's a future salvation that is yet to come, and there is that present salvation which God's people enjoy now.

8:29Both of these, as our text reveals in verses 10 through 12, are a Christ-centered grace. And I want you to see this Christ-centeredness so that you will want Christ to be the center of your life. We'll just begin and look at six of these. First, I want you to see the prophets of grace. The prophets of grace. And who are the prophets of grace? Well, these are those Old Testament prophets. Prophets who prophesied before the coming of Christ. Verse 10. Look at their search. As to this salvation, referring back to the immediate salvation, the salvation present. As to this salvation and the future, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries. That is, they are carefully searching. They search diligently, meticulously, thoroughly, persistently, prudently, wisely, judiciously. All that is bound up in this careful search. What were they looking for? Look back at verse 11. They were seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that follow. They were looking for a person, a specific time, the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow.

10:02As you go through the prophetic words of the Old Testament, there were many prophetic utterances, and all of them converge upon this person, this time, the sufferings, and the glories that were followed. In Isaiah 7, he will be born of a virgin. Isaiah 8, we have the promise of Immanuel, God with us. In Isaiah 9, unto us a son will be given, and the government of the nations will be upon his shoulders. In Isaiah 11, he will come from the stump of Jesse, that is the lineage of David. Isaiah 40, he will be heralded by one crying in the wilderness. Isaiah 42, he will be the servant of Yahweh, and the Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon him. Isaiah 53, he will suffer immensely, immensely for his people. In Isaiah 61, his mission is laid out. He will bring good news. He will bind up the brokenhearted. He will proclaim liberty to the captives. He will proclaim freedom to the prisoners. He will proclaim the favorable time of Yahweh. And as a result, righteousness and praise will spring up from the nations. In Jeremiah 23, he will be king. Micah 5, he will be born in Bethlehem. In Zechariah 13, he is the good shepherd, and he will be struck by Yahweh, and a fountain for sin and impurity will be opened.

11:32Psalm 2, he is the Son of God. In Psalm 16, in Psalm 22, he is the Messiah who will suffer. He will die, and he will be exalted. In Psalm 80, 17, he is the man at Yahweh's right hand. In Psalm 110, he will be the priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. In Daniel 9, there's a specific time table of the Messianic times. And why did the Spirit of God? Christ, give us all this so that we wouldn't miss him. There's a very specific address.

12:10That was their search. What did they find? Look in verse 12. They found out they were not serving themselves, but they were serving those who receive his grace. Verse 12, it was revealed to them they were not serving themselves, but you in these things. Who? You, us, Peter's original audience, and by application, us, so that we would not miss the specific individual that was prophesied that would come, so that our faith may be in the right person.

12:47So Christ was the central focus of the prophetic study. But second, not only was Christ the center of the prophets of grace, he was also the center of the preachers of grace. Look back at verse 12. These things, these things that the prophets looked into, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. The message that was proclaimed that they heard had been preached to them by those who were preaching good news. Literally, they reported these things, they made them known.

13:31And the literal word is they were preached through the ones preaching good news. These things that the prophets looked into were announced to Peter's audience through apostles, through preachers. The ones preaching good news, heralds of truth. They didn't make up the truth. That truth was given to them, declared already by the prophets, and they declared it. And there's a great company of preachers. If you go through the scriptures, there in Luke 1, you see Gabriel are sometimes these heralds, and he comes to Zechariah and says, I have been sent to speak or to announce, to preach to you, and to bring you this good news.

14:19And then in Revelation 14, that event yet to come, I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to announce. And that's what he did. He flew and he preached, announced the eternal gospel, the good news of Christ, the king who suffers for his people. And Luke 4, it's Jesus himself. I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities. I must evangelize. It's the worst. I must make known the good news of God to others. For I was sent for this purpose. And then Paul, 2 Corinthians 10, I preach the gospel. Announce.

15:11You see, preaching is that method, proclaiming, announcing, not just from a pulpit, that announcement, that proclamation of the message of grace. It's important to understand that the preachers of grace proclaim the same message as the prophets of grace. They didn't make it up, but they passed on what they had received. Third, I want you to look at the Spirit of grace. You know, Peter has mentioned here the prophets of grace. He's mentioned the preachers of grace as the ones bringing the good news. And that they do. But ultimately, if you look closely at the text, it is the Holy Spirit who is the herald of grace. Look at verse 11. They were seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ was indicating. You see, the prophets were driven by the Holy Spirit.

16:09Verse 12. And these things were announced to you by what? The Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Message came through the preachers, but the preachers, like the prophets, were also driven by the Spirit. He is the herald. He is the one making these things known. They were announced by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. And I think Peter has in mind here the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. If you remember in Acts chapter 1, Jesus gathered them together and he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which he said, You have heard from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Up until that time, the baptism of the Holy Spirit had not taken place. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. See, the Holy Spirit's behind this whole thing, right? Making known Christ.

17:19And so indeed the Holy Spirit came, Acts chapter 2, and as a result, powerful proclamation centered upon that one figure, Jesus Christ, and his work, his sufferings, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, his now seating, his glory, seating at the right hand of God. That was the content of the message. You see, the Old Testament and the New Testament are in unity. The purpose of the Old Testament was to create this growing expectation of this one mysterious figure who would come upon the come into the realm of humanity and walk among us. This one figure on whom all the longings and hopes of the nations were placed, and upon this one individual, whom all the promises of God shall be fulfilled. The purpose of the Old Testament was to say, He is coming. And the purpose of the New Testament was to say, We have found him. Now come to him.

18:21And see, the whole Holy Spirit's ministry is Christ-centered. John 16, 13, Jesus says, But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. What a statement. Therefore, he takes of mine and will disclose it to you. You see, the whole ministry of the Holy Spirit is the person and work of Jesus Christ. He glorifies him. Listen to this. Listen, any religion that does not glorify and exalt Jesus Christ is not from God. Any religion, any sect, any group within a religion, any so-called church, any individual, any spirit, any attitude of your heart that does not exalt the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ is not from God. It is not holy. It is not clean, but it is foul and unholy.

19:38Listen, the exaltation of the person of Jesus Christ is the central focus of the prophets, of the preachers, and the Spirit of God. So, what is this message? Looked at the prophets of grace, we've looked at the preachers of grace, we've looked at the spirit of grace. Now, let's look at the message of grace. What is this message of grace? This tells us what has been proclaimed, it tells us what we have heard, and it tells us what we are to proclaim. It tells us the contents of the gospel, at least at their essential minimum, what must be there. Look back at verse 10. I want you to see, in verse 10 and 11, I want you to see four key words: salvation, grace, sufferings, and glories. Salvation, as to this salvation. It's synonymous with grace. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace. So, the grace is manifested in salvation. Then I want you to see the sufferings. The sufferings and glories. You see, the message of salvation involves a specific purpose, a specific person. It involves A specific time. It involves suffering. And it involves the glories that follow the suffering. Certainly, the sufferings, Peter is referring to Christ's rejection, his burial, his humiliation, his crucifixion, his death, all that.

21:19And certainly the glories involve his resurrection, his ascension, his seating at the right hand of God, the glorious impact of the gospel that's going to go forth and has already taken place at this time when he writes this, and looking forward to the second coming and kingdom glory, all this, the glories that follow his sufferings. Certainly, all this is in view. But listen, the gospel does not begin with lofty speculations. The gospel does not begin with your good intentions. The gospel does not begin with noble aspirations.

21:59The gospel does not begin with high ideals or elevated forms of morality. The gospel begins with certain facts of history, certain facts. And these facts involve his suffering and his subsequent glory. And these facts of history prepare us for the future. You see, the gospel is more than just Jesus was a good man or that Jesus was a wise teacher. One commentator said it well, and I'm just going to quote him. It is no gospel to tell a man that Jesus Christ died unless you go on to say that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And it is no gospel to talk about the beauty of Christ's life and the perfectness and the perfectness of his example and the sweetness of his nature and the depth, the wisdom, and the tenderness of his words, unless you can say, This is the Lamb of God, the Word made flesh, who bore our sins and carried our sicknesses and our sorrows. You strike out the sufferings of Christ and you have struck out the one thing that will draw men's hearts, that will satisfy men's needs, that will bind men to Him with cords of love.

23:17You see, the drawing power of God's electing grace is the message of the cross. Deny this or leave that out, and you have left it all out. And why is this? Why is this message about the suffering king necessary to draw men? Well, the bottom line is because nothing else deals with our deepest need. You see, our deepest need is our sin, the penalty of it, the guilt of it, the power of it. The cross deals with our sin.

23:59You see, Christ. Christ is the center of human history, right? Even our calendar, the BC, before Christ, A.D., the Annodomini, the favorable time of Yahweh, favorable year of our Lord. The cross is even at the center before we started messing with the calendar. We recognize this figure. Christ, center of human history as we know it, but it's also Christ is the center of human history, and the cross is the center of his work. Christ's life is the center, and the cross, the work of the cross, is the center of the center.

24:46You see, Christ is the central object of faith. Christ's sufferings and the glories that follow are the central to the message of grace. This message is what solicits faith. I used to take the train up to seminary. I lived in San Diego. I had to go all the way up north of Los Angeles. That may not mean a whole lot to you, but I can tell you what my trip looked like. I would get up around, I don't know, three-ish in the morning. I'd have about a 45-minute drive to the train station. I'd catch the train. I would take it all the way up into Union Station, catch another train out to Van Nuys. I'd get picked up. By a seminary student, it'd take me to seminary. That train would take me to class.

25:39Well, this announcing this truth is that train that brings the grace of God to people. The message that God uses to bring His grace to people. That's why it's important for us to be involved in ministries like Hope Pregnancy that are going to the nations. That train. And the reason why Tracy makes the appeal to churchgoers and people in her church is because the importance of the message: that all this is nothing unless these people are touched with the gospel. That's the ultimate objective.

26:25You see, the message is that there is this almighty king who suffers for his people. It's totally different than any other king that we can think about, right? Most kings want to be served. This king loves his people and is willing to suffer immensely for them. And I cannot help but think of the paralytic in Mark chapter 2. We talked about him a little bit last. Week. Peter, there he is in his house. This guy, he had heard the news about the leper that had been healed, probably, or certainly somebody else. He knew that if Christ could heal a leper, he could heal a paralytic. He knew if Christ would heal a leper, he would heal a paralytic. And so this individual came and he tore a house, tore a hole in Peter's roof to get in.

27:28Can't help but think about him. He properly appropriated and understood the implications of the historical facts. And that comes to us today in the same way. These historical facts bring the reality that our Lord came and he walked among us and he went to the cross to deal with the penalty and the power and this disposition within us to sin. And I guarantee you, if he would heal them, he will heal us. These are the facts of history. And if you will, like that individual in Mark 2, like the paralytic who understood the implications of the historical facts for his own life, got up and went and he kept going.

28:17That is the response of faith. The question is: Do you want a king who loves you so intently as to suffer immensely for you? It's pretty powerful love, right? And he has made it very clear from the outset. He is a jealous God. He tolerates no rival. Do you want this kind of love poured out? He doesn't do anything halfway, he is intense. It's almost kind of scary, isn't it? To be loved to this degree. But the one thing we understand is that he is good. He is good. And to be loved with the very definition of good is that all the bad is gone, pushed out, so that he can flood you with the goodness of himself.

29:13That is salvation. You see, how you relate to Jesus will define you for eternity. This is the figure that the prophets spoke about, apostles declared that the Spirit empowered. This is the message. This is the vehicle that draws faith. Today is the day of His favor. Is your heart drawn to Him even as the words are being spoken? It should be. If it's not, you need to pray this prayer: God help me, I'm dead. I see the truth, but I am not old. Awakened. God help me. I'm dead. Next, I want you to see the spectators of grace. There's a little detail at the end of verse 12. Things into which angels long to look. There's an interesting little afterthought, right? Or is it? Things into which the angels long to look. The word long to look, or the meaning there is earnestly desiring. In Luke 22, 15, Jesus said, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. As Jesus was earnestly desiring, in the same manner, these angels are earnestly desiring to look into these things. There's a lot of angel activity in Scripture. In Psalm 103, there is the command that they bless the Lord, and they bless the Lord by obeying the voice of the Lord. Psalm 148, they're commanded to praise Him. In Hebrews 1.14, it speaks about the angels as ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. They are ministering spirits. Luke 15:10, see that there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents. They are very much engaged and watching. In Matthew 24, 31, he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other, ministering spirits, obedient.

31:45You see, angels do not experience salvation. Holy angels do not need salvation, and the unholy ones are not offered salvation. So they cannot praise God for their own salvation, but they can and do praise God for the salvation of mankind. In Revelation 5, there is this throne room worship scene where angels and living creatures and elders are falling down and worshiping Christ because he was slain. The suffering. You see, it is a privilege to be part of the church, to be these instruments through which the manifold wisdom of God is being made known. Paul says in Ephesians 3, verse 7, he says, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace. It is a gift to be able to speak in the name of this great king who would lay down his life for his people. It is an honor to privilege and a privilege to take his name upon our lips, let alone declare him to others. What a privilege. And this is what Paul says in verse 8: To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to me to announce, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for all ages has been hidden in God who created all things. And get this, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. God is making the manifold wisdom of his very nature and name known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. What a privilege. It is an incredible privilege to be part of Christ's church. Don't waste it.

33:59It's an incredible privilege. Angels long to look into these things. Shouldn't we? Maybe it shouldn't be such a hard thing to get to church when angels are stooping, literally bending their neck as Peter bent his neck to look into the tomb. This is the picture of angels as they're watching. One more. Look at the prophets, grace, the preachers. Of grace, the spirit of grace, the message of grace, the spectator's grace. I want to spend a couple moments just talking about the recipients of grace. Like in verse 10, this salvation, whom the prophets prophesied of the grace that would come to you. Verse 12, it was revealed to them they were not serving themselves, but you in these things that have now been announced to those who preach the gospel to you. See the emphasis. Peter's audience, let's take this back to Peter's audience. They were suffering, right? They were in the midst of a hostile society, and they were suffering for Christ's name. Following Christ came with a price, and they were suffering.

35:20And Peter encourages them. And his encouragement goes like this: He's saying, Look, he suffered for you, so you can suffer for him. You do not serve a king that would not do this for you and more. And that is the basis why you can suffer for him. Stand firm in the true grace. Take on the price of being a Christian. He suffered for us. We can certainly suffer for him. It's incredible how much and how quickly. We can deny Christ.

36:03We don't even have the great pains of many of the persecuting times of the church. For us, we have a hard time just putting aside our entertainment for the name of Christ. Our schedule. You see, this has application to all of us. It is a privilege to suffer for Him because He suffered for us. And what Peter is going to tell these people: stand firm in the true grace. And through you, not only is the manifold witness being, the manifold wisdom of God being made known in the heavenlies, but you will reach those in your neighborhood as well. And the very persecutors will hear. They will see your life.

36:59And they will hear the message of grace through the testimony of your life. What a privilege. What a privilege. You see, we are in the most privileged position in the universe. And Christ will use our sufferings for Him. So, as we come to the close of these twelve verses, several things are apparent. First of all, the salvation. Salvation is by grace alone. Salvation is through faith alone. Salvation is in Christ alone. That's the thrust of this text. That's what Peter is saying. And where does that bring us?

37:48Well, if you're here today and you do not know Christ, I can tell you this: it is by grace alone, and it is through faith alone, and it is in Christ alone. And these doctrines take us to the very end of ourselves, don't they? Because it's by Christ alone, by his grace alone, through faith alone. And the reality is, we don't even have that, do we? And so, where does that take us? It takes us to the very end of ourselves to cry out and say, God, I see in Scripture that you are the center of the universe. I want you to be the center of my life.

38:31I see that that is right, and my heart isn't even on board with this like it should. God, open my eyes. God, it is in your hands and wholly in your hands. And Father, I beg of you, please receive me. Come to him. He forgave others. He will forgive you. But if you are a believer, Rejoice. What he has began, he is going to complete. But also, in your rejoicing, seek to make him more and more the center of your universe. He is the center of the universe.

39:14Pray that he will be more and more the center of your universe. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we walk through these passages, Father, we're just confronted, Lord, with the greatness of your salvation, the thoroughness of your salvation, the grace of your salvation. Father, we desire, Lord, for you to be the center of our world. We see in Scripture how you are the center. You are King. Father, you did love us to the point of dying for us extremely, immensely. Father, our minds cannot take that in. Father, and any response we have is going to be totally inadequate. And so, Father, we pray for you to have mercy upon us, to open our eyes, to give us this great faith, increase our faith. Father, that you may more and more be all and all in us to the glory of your Son's name, for he is worthy. Father, I pray now by your Spirit that you will do whatever you need to do in the lives of any person here according to your Great grace.

40:32Jesus' name.