Remember how Paul fell off his horse on the Damascus road when he encountered Jesus? Only one thing. Neither Acts nor Paul said anything about a horse. Yet this pervasive perception is imprinted in our imagination of this scene. If we see through rose-colored glasses, the world looks rosy, right? Looking at the glass half full or half empty greatly affects our impression of life.
Every commentator worth his salt says 1 Peter is addressed to Christians suffering great persecution. But before we roll up our sleeves and dive right in, something else alongside suffering should color how we perceive Peter’s letter.
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13 ESV
How should we regard this revelation of Jesus Christ? Most sermons, commentators, and Greek experts I’ve consulted interpret this to mean Jesus’ second coming. Peter’s eye toward heaven and the future naturally influence this rendering. The New International Version goes so far as translating it “when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (“At his coming” isn’t in the Greek text.) How one understands “revelation of Jesus Christ” depends upon how the big picture of Peter’s letter is perceived.
Peter nowhere explicitly says it’s the second coming. In the original language it’s simply a revelation of Christ (the article “the” is not present). Revelation of Jesus Christ can also mean an unveiling of Jesus’ glory by the Spirit in the Word of God (see 2Co 3:16-18). Which is it here? What is Peter’s divinely inspired line of thought?
I highly respect the gifted teachers and expositors of God’s Word, which is why I have painstakingly pored over the text in total dependence upon the Holy Spirit as much as I have. I am persuaded that the context of chapters 1 and 2 best fit an unveiling of the Lord Jesus from Scripture. One short blog cannot a full presentation make, but as this More Precious Than Gold series plays out, I will present my observations for you to prayerfully consider.
In order to unpack this compact treasure trove of apostolic wisdom, we’ll examine the text in reverse order to more easily draw your attention to my point. I confess that this is very challenging to unpack. Not only can every phrase captivate one’s full attention but the divine flow of logic isn’t linear like a train engine pulling boxcars. It’s more like a rope braided together, complementary bands of thought intertwining one another. These God-breathed words are as a living organism that defies orderly dissection. But by God’s grace we’ll try. Lord, help us to see.
It was revealed to them [the prophets] 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 ESV
What I want you to see here is how Peter anchors these Old Testament prophets into the readers’ present experience, the here and now. These prophets understood that their ministry was for a people alive after the Messiah’s sufferings. Peter asserts what was prophesied “have now been announced to you,” and by extension, to us in the 21st Century. Now. Today. Let’s walk backwards a bit more.
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 ESV
Another version translates “subsequent glories” as “glories that would follow,” a subterranean river flowing through this epistle. After the predicted sufferings of Christ came, the glories (plural) followed, “the things that have now been announced to you.” What are these glories? “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours.” What glories? Salvation. Grace. When? Now. These are but a few of the glories that Jesus’ sufferings won for you and me. Peter opened the letter with a blessing, “May grace…be multiplied to you,” an expectancy of these glories here and now.
Scripture speaks of salvation in three tenses: past, present, and future. Let’s backtrack to the previous verses for which one Peter has in mind.
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 ESV
Both “rejoice” and “obtaining” are in the present tense, meaning it was happening when Peter wrote. “Obtaining” means more than merely receiving; it’s handling with care. “Obtaining” is a participle, a helping verb to the main verb, “rejoice.” So as these believers are rejoicing, they are simultaneously obtaining the outcome (or “end” or “goal”) of their faith. So catch this: the “salvation of your souls” doesn’t refer to the future in heaven, although it will certainly be true then. These persecuted saints were obtaining the outcome of their faith—the salvation of their souls—at that time. What about their souls was being saved? Joy! The end of your faith and mine is loving Jesus expressed in unspeakable joy.
As the Lord wills, next time we will show how the revelation of Christ likewise has a present-day application. We’ll examine the relationship of this unveiling of our Lord Jesus from the Scriptures to how we receive grace to live godly even amidst trials and persecution. This current hope, a “living hope” as Peter says, will thrill our hearts with rejoicing and an expectancy of encountering the living Jesus in the written Word of God. With these rosy-colored glasses on, you’ll never view trials the same way again.
Glory Unveiled: Discovering Jesus 