Our identity in Christ

Last week, Andy introduced our sermon series with a look at the life of the apostle Peter. This morning, we will take the next step in that series by looking at Peter’s first letter.

For all those who were taught how to write letters -- I suppose it is mostly texting and e-mail now -- I am sure you remember that we were taught a traditional format, with return address there, the date there, and all. And back when Peter wrote his letter, there was also a customary format. In those days, a letter was begun by identifying the author, then identifying the recipient followed by a greeting to the recipient. And Peter does exactly that in the first two verses. But before I read it, I’m going to go out on a limb and claim that based on Peter’s identification of his intended recipients, this room is full of people to whom he is writing. See if I’m right. So please turn with me to the first chapter of first Peter, and I will be reading from the first verse. Peter writes:

Peter, a missionary representing Jesus Christ, [that is, he identifies himself]

To God’s pilgrims scattered throughout the [world -- you’ll notice Peter lists a bunch of Roman provinces, but he would likely permit his audience to stretch beyond them], 2 [those] who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: [and now the customary greeting:]

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Peter’s self-identification is no surprise. He is a missionary representing Jesus Christ. But what about his identification of the letter’s intended recipients?

As I’m sure you know, not that long ago, people identified with their occupation, or their education, or their activities, or perhaps who they hang out with. But we now live in a world where we are increasingly told that our identity is determined by the color of our skin, or by our sex. Unfortunately, there is no liberating power in such things, and the accompanying trend is to become more isolated and disconnected and resentful. We see this all around us today.

And so it is refreshing, inspiring and even liberating to see Peter identify his readers in a way that gets beyond such insignificant identifiers. Now Peter was by no means unfamiliar with such things. Peter grew up in a society with enormous barriers between Jews and Gentiles -- a racial divide -- so you might almost expect such a thing to feature in his identification of his intended readers, but it doesn’t. Similarly, Peter grew up in a society with slaves and freemen and citizens, but those distinctions don’t appear in his identification of his readers either. Peter grew up in a society where women were treated as inferiors, but as we will see in a few weeks, this letter was clearly written to women as much as men.

So how does Peter identify his intended audience? Verse 2:

[to those] who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

First, Peter writes to those who “have been chosen by God the Father.” That’s the “already”. That’s our position. It is in the past perfect tense. This is our foundation: we have been chosen by God.

Do you remember what it was like at recess in the third grade? I can tell you how it was for me: A crowd would form out on the soccer field, and two of the older children -- usually those in sixth grade -- would “choose teams” dividing everyone up to play the game. One after another every child in the crowd would be chosen to play on one side or the other. Naturally, I wanted to play on the team with the best captain. That’s the team that always had the best chance of winning. I don’t know about you, but I l-i-k-e-d winning. Now Peter is writing to the team that has been chosen by the best Captain. He is writing to the team that is certainly going to win.

But back in grade school, I noticed that the best players were always chosen first, and the choices being made for the best players were done with much deliberation. As long as the team captains still seemed to care, it wasn’t so bad being picked toward the end. But oh, the humiliation, if there were five or six of us left, and the captain just waved his arm and said: this half of you are on one team and that half on the other - it doesn’t matter. Back then, I desperately wanted to be older and better and faster and stronger and bigger -- just so that I would be chosen... with greater dignity. And perhaps that I might be chosen sooner; or that the best captain would want to choose me. Nobody had written the rules down, but everyone just knew that the teams were chosen according to the skill of those being chosen.

But please notice the basis for our being chosen by God. It isn’t our skill; it isn’t our virtue; it isn’t our piety. Here’s how Peter puts it: [those] who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Paul says the same thing in Ephesians (1:4):

he chose us in [Christ] before the creation of the world.

That means the choosing was done ahead of time. And we weren’t chosen because God knew how wonderfully we were. The testimony of the Apostle Paul -- someone who certainly knew that God had chosen him -- is that he was the chief of sinners. And about us he says that, “we were by nature deserving of wrath (Ephesians 2:3)” and that we were reconciled to God while we were his enemies.

Being chosen by God is like being chosen by the best captain on the soccer field when you are the smallest and the slowest. No wonder Peter’s next words are those of praise: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Nothing we do can make God choose us. Instead, in his second letter, Peter encourages us with these words:

you must do all you can to ensure that God has really chosen ... you (2 Peter 1:10)

Isn’t that curious? God might well have chosen you, but it is up to you to be increasingly aware of his choice of you; it is up to you to recognize the implications of that choice. Has God chosen you this morning? Take the time to explore that possibility -- and become sure about it.

So that’s our foundation: we are chosen by God. But there is a reason for our having been chosen (it is toward the end of the verse): “to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood.” That’s the “not yet”. It is in the future tense. This is our potential and our purpose. This is the blueprint for our lives -- what our lives are supposed to look like.

And that obedience to Jesus? Nowadays we don’t like the word “obedience” so much, but we are usually quite happy with the word “employment”. My older brother works for Google, and when he got that job, many people were “oh! Google” -- he received status for working for one of the richest and most powerful companies in history. But his employment? It represents an “obedience” of sorts doesn’t it? He plays by their rules, and does the work that they ask him to do, and he doesn’t publish company-wide memos that could embarrass anyone...

But you know: Google won’t last forever. Does anyone remember Nortel? Well, earlier in his career, my brother worked for Nortel. Even the best and the biggest companies can and do collapse in the space of a frighteningly few years. In contrast, our King Jesus will reign forever and ever. And if the word “obedience” makes you uncomfortable, you can use the word “employment” for the time being.

Do you remember that call from the employer offering you a job. Either a job you really need or a job you really want? They chose you. This is the kind of thing that Peter is talking about: and just like your employer chose you with some expectation that you would be obedient to them. God chose us with the expectation that we would be obedient to Jesus Christ. But in the same way that you felt pride and joy landing that job, Peter gushes over finding himself (along with the rest of us) chosen by God, the best captain, the top employer -- that’s the next verse: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

What do you think Peter had in mind, exactly, when he wrote “to be obedient to Jesus Christ”? After all, Peter had had the privilege of hanging out with Jesus over the space of years, listening to Jesus’ teaching. Peter had heard Jesus tell all those who would listen: “Repent!” I’m sure that this is an important component of “obedience to Jesus.” Peter had heard Jesus say: “come, follow me!” to him, personally. It must have had great significance for him.

Peter had heard Jesus tell everyone: “[strive] to enter through the narrow door.” And he had heard Jesus tell his disciples, “Love one another” and later, “make disciples of all nations”. Peter could have been thinking of any of those things, but together, they represent a short summary of Jesus’ teaching, don’t they? Repent; follow; strive; love; witness -- this is what it means to be obedient to Jesus. Do you want to be obedient to Jesus? You could do much worse than to keep these words on hand: Repent; follow; strive; love; witness, and challenge yourself by them regularly.

But five things is a lot to remember -- when I go grocery shopping and my list is longer than three items, I'm sure to forget at least one. So here's a mnemonic that could help: "real flowers sure like water" (repent follow strive love witness)

Oh, and that business of being sprinkled with his blood? That is an image that had been drilled into the Jewish consciousness. It shows up again and again back in the book of Leviticus: a sacrifice was made, and the sprinkling of the blood of that sacrifice was an act of purification. Seriously! We might think, “ew!” But the Old Testament is clear: nothing was considered good enough for service at the Temple unless it was so sprinkled. So that’s what Peter would have had in mind. Jesus, making the ultimate sacrifice in his death on the cross for the sins of the world, purifies us with his blood, as long as we’re willing to experience that sacrifice “up close and personal.” You can’t be sprinkled with the blood if your only interaction with Jesus’ sacrifice is distant or abstract or superficial.

So Peter identifies us according to our foundation (being chosen by God), and he identifies us according to our blueprints (to be followers of Christ, purified with his sacrificial death). But he also calls out the means to get from where we are (the “already”) to where we want to be (the “not-yet”). If we want to live up to our potential, if we are to fulfill our purpose, we need what Peter calls “the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” God’s action in the past is to choose us. But God’s action in the present is this work of his Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit working in your heart this morning? In Romans, Paul writes:

The mind governed by our old nature is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

In Galatians, the message is similar:

Whoever sows to please their old nature, from that old nature will reap destruction; [but] whoever sows to please the Spirit, from that Spirit will reap eternal life.

If you aren’t experiencing that life and peace this morning, if you haven’t received a glimpse of that eternal life, let me encourage you to pray to God for his Spirit. After all, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus promised that this is one prayer that God is certain to answer:

Which of you [asks Jesus], if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

So let’s come to God asking for his Holy Spirit today. For by his purifying work (that’s what “sanctification” means) we who have been chosen by God become formed according to our blueprints as Jesus’ disciples.

By the way, this verse (1 Peter 1:2) isn’t the only one of its kind in the Bible. In fact, it might even represent an early formula of Christian identity. We find a very similar passage in one of the earliest of Paul’s letters, written to the Thessalonians. There, (2 Thess 2:13b,14) he writes:

...God chose you ... to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit ... that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The three important elements are in both passages: (1) chosen by God and (2) sanctified by the Spirit as (3) we follow our Lord Jesus. And I hope that you picked up on the fact that obedience to Jesus implies sharing in his glory! May this be the reality in each of our lives. May this form our identity this morning. Established by God, pointed toward Jesus, and empowered by the Spirit. So let me ask you: is this where you find your identity this morning?

At this point, having identified his intended audience, Peter then greets them with the customary Christian greeting: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” Then he turns to the body of his letter (verse 3)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

“In his great mercy, God has given us new birth.” New birth -- being born again -- now sometimes folk who hang around churches misunderstand this concept. Too often, we are tempted to imagine that being born again means having another, parallel, fall-back life that we can hop over to whenever our “real life” gets rough. This unfortunate tendency: to cling to the old life and to treat the new life like a “plan B” isn’t right, and it isn’t new. Paul writing to the church in Galatia, asks them (4:9):

how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world?

But this isn’t God’s intention at all. Instead, God grants us new birth because the old life is of no value at all. As we already read:

The mind governed by our old nature is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

You see, the alternative to the new life is death. The “new birth” is not like a “new convertible”, that we admire in the garage and take out to show off on sun(ny) days, but otherwise use the family minivan. Instead, imagine the Titanic, having already hit the iceberg and pitching heavily. It is going down, people. And that “new birth” is the opportunity to climb on board a rescue vessel. Let me remind you of another verse you all know (2 Corinthians 5:17):

if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The old has passed away. It isn’t just “mostly dead”. It is no more. It has ceased to be. And it needs to be out of the way in order to make room for the new life! Because with this new birth, God has given us every reason to discard that old life, with all of its obsolete identifiers, and to put on the new identifiers that he provides: established by God, pointed toward Jesus and empowered by the Spirit.

Peter blesses God for the opportunity we have to experience this new birth. And then Peter lists two consequences of this new birth. First, we have been given new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter’s hope -- this living hope -- is grounded in a sure historical event. In his resurrection, Jesus demonstrated once and for all his victory over death and his power over those principles of this world. Power even over those worldly principles we call the laws of physics. I find it odd when people object to the resurrection on the grounds that such an event would represent a “violation” of the laws of physics. Because those laws didn’t just magically appear. Whatever determined those laws -- I should say “Whoever determined those laws” --  is bigger than the laws themselves. After all, God owns all the patents on matter and energy and all the relationships between them, and he can do anything he well pleases whenever he well pleases -- including raising someone from the dead.

And what a world-changing, history-defining event that was. Paul writes, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” But Christ has indeed been raised, and we are confident that his resurrection is a trailblazing effort, for he is expecting to bring many of us to glory, experiencing this same resurrection even as he has. As we read in Romans (6:5):

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Hey: there it is again -- a death is necessary before the resurrection takes place. A death is necessary before a new birth takes place. The earlier that we are willing and able to write off that old life, the better off we’ll be.

We have been given new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But we have also been given new birth into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, reserved in heaven for you. An inheritance: you know, I’ve never known an example of an inheritance that was earned. Instead, an inheritance is received on the basis of your family -- usually your birth. And the basis for our firmly established heavenly inheritance is our new birth. No wonder Peter is full of praise to God for such a wonderful gift.

Because it isn’t like earthly inheritances. I’ve been talking recently to someone whose grandfather’s considerable estate is still being fought over three years after his departure. Before it gets resolved, the lawyers will have spent a huge chunk of it. And then there is inflation, and worse. That’s all part of the territory of this old life that leads to death. Our new birth, on the other hand, is into the living hope of an undiminished inheritance.

Oh! And did you notice that this passage that we just read highlights once again the tension between the already and the not-yet? On the one hand, “In his great mercy [God] has given us new birth” - this is the “already”. On the other, “This inheritance is kept in heaven for you ... until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” And this is the “not-yet”.

But strangely, this “future-tense” salvation comes as a surprise to many Christians. Aren’t we already saved? What does it mean that the salvation is “coming”? What does it mean that the salvation is to be revealed in the last time? Well, it means what it says. And this isn’t an isolated passage on the matter, either.

In Philippians, Paul writes that we should “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. Hmm, that make salvation sounds very much like something that we requires effort, doesn’t it? As we already heard, Jesus himself says, (Luke 13:24) that we should, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” Make every effort. That also sounds an awful lot like “work” doesn’t it. In fact, the word that Jesus uses here is a Greek word that you would likely understand immediately: ἀγωνίζομαι agōnízomai. That is, our salvation -- our entrance through the narrow door --  is something that we can legitimately agonize over. “Many will try to enter, and will not be able to.” So we need to put in the effort, or we will be in the same boat.

As we read before, Peter echoes Jesus’ words in his second letter “My friends, you must do all you can to ensure that God has really chosen and selected you.” All you can. Make every effort. Fear and trembling. Work it out. God has done his part. He has chosen you. He has sent his Son, who died for our sins and was raised to life to demonstrate his Lordship over creation. Now, in between the “already” and the “not-yet” it is our turn to make the effort. It is our turn to do all we can. It is our turn to show that God really has chosen us. This is no small calling. This is no small task. But it isn’t a burden. In fact, God’s promises to make this task a joy. And that’s what Peter says clearly in the next passage:

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. … 8 Though you have not seen [Jesus], you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Once again, we notice that salvation is the “end result” -- it is something that we “are receiving”. But in the process, we can be “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy”. And that even in the face of trials.

Our society is funny: we are richer than ever in history. We have huge resources of education and entertainment at our fingertips. We enjoy freedom and leisure as never before. Our medical system keeps us healthier and we grow older and are nourished with a greater variety of good food. But at the same time, people today suffer from more anxiety and from more depression than ever before.

In contrast, when Peter writes about “grief in all kinds of trials,” he knew what he was talking about. Those trials were greater than anything we’ve ever experienced by a wide margin. But they weren’t significant enough to cut into his “glorious joy” - he knew what that was all about, too. The salvation of our souls isn’t just something for the next life. It has significant impact on the present. Because even though we find ourselves between the “already” and the “not-yet”, the effect of the Holy Spirit in our lives can be that life and peace and great joy in the here-and-now. Notice that Peter uses the present tense: “you greatly rejoice”; you “are filled with a glorious joy”.

When we started, I asked if you could identify with the intended recipients of this letter: chosen by God, pointed toward Jesus, and empowered by his Spirit. Perhaps some could, and some less so. But now I’m asking a different question: would you like to experience this glorious life and peace and joy? Would you like to be on the winning team? Would you like to be led by the best Captain? Perhaps he’s chosen you. If you’re not sure, you could make sure. Start obeying Jesus now, and you might find God’s Spirit will increasingly participate in your life. How? Repent, Follow, Strive, Love, Remember, Witness.

do all you can to ensure that God has really chosen ... you