“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 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 to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”
As we saw in closing last time, Peter has acknowledged the inexpressible and glorious joy that the persecuted Christians in Roman-controlled regions have in response to the spiritual truths that have been revealed to them pertaining to their security and their promised inheritance in Christ.
He notes that although they did not see Jesus in His incarnation and have not seen Him, yet they love Him and believe in Him and the result of that belief is their own salvation.
Their living hope and the surety of their salvation is the main theme of this chapter. He has talked about the source of salvation and he has talked about the future benefits of salvation and he has talked about the glorious joy that comes with salvation, so now he will talk about the greatness of our salvation.
In Isaiah 43:11 through the prophet the Lord declares, “I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me.”
‘Salvation’ is a wonderful word. Salvation is a wonderful thing. Even on a purely human level, anyone who has ever been rescued from danger and imminent loss of their life or limb, when they think back to that time, will remember the great sense of relief and just pure joy of being alive that swelled over them after the danger had passed.
But when God, through Isaiah, declares that there is no savior besides Himself, He is speaking of the sort of salvation that all mankind needs because of the common predicament that all of mankind is in.
All are lost, all are dead in sin, all are helpless and by nature enemies of God and children of wrath.
Firemen can pull you out of a burning building, occasionally police find themselves in a position to save someone from being a victim of violent crime. Doctors can operate and remove a malignancy and a good counselor can help you get through potentially destructive emotional imbalance.
But only the Lord God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, who calls Himself compassionate and gracious (Ex 34:6), can save anyone from eternal destruction.
The very first thing that makes our salvation great therefore is the fact that it only comes from one Source and Provider.
Like a precious jewel or a perfume that only comes from a certain, hard to acquire flower or a dye that can only be processed from a rare sea urchin found in deep places of the ocean, what makes our salvation so precious, so great, is the cost at which it was purchased and its unique source. “I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me”.
PURSUED BY THE PROPHETS
The salvation that comes from God is the supreme theme of the entire Bible.
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul reminded the young pastor that he had “…known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim 3:15)
Of course Paul would have been referring to the Old Testament scriptures, but he knew that they were predicting the coming of the Lord’s Messiah which was fulfilled in Jesus and said as much there to Timothy.
Jesus, Himself, when He came out of the wilderness to His hometown of Nazareth, stood and read from Isaiah,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
And when He was finished reading He declared Himself to be the fulfillment of that prophecy.
Now the Old Testament prophets didn’t have a name or a face to put to their prophecies, they could not fully comprehend all that would be involved in Christ’s life, death and resurrection.
What they were focused on, according to Peter, was the grace that was to come to us. They were passionately concerned with the promised salvation.
It was, as I said, the primary theme from the very beginning.
In the Garden of Eden after man fell into sin and death, God promised salvation (Gen 3:15), and from that moment on His revelation to mankind, given as Hebrews 1:1 says, in many portions and many ways has pointed to that promise.
As time went on the references through the mouth of the prophets to redemption became more specific until, through some He was giving graphic details of the crucifixion and through others naming the birthplace of the One who would come, and so forth.
So after they wrote their prophecies they continued in their own diligent search and study, wishing to delve deeper into the things they knew the Lord had revealed through them. They weren’t content to shout out “thus says the Lord” and go on down the street satisfied that they had done what they were called to do.
They wanted to understand more. They were prophesying about God’s grace; more specifically the grace that would usher in salvation. They knew God’s grace. They didn’t just know of it, they knew it in their own lives.
But they knew there was a Redeemer coming and they sought to find answers to the same kind of questions we have today, when we read prophetic scripture concerning the last days.
Jesus even told His disciples:
“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
But as the writer to the Hebrews revealed to us,
“And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”
And as we will see, the prophets understood that they were writing, not only for future generations of Jews, but for future nations of all mankind.
Isaiah 60:1-3 is just one of many proofs of this:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Before we move on to discuss this further though, let me just give you a challenge.
The prophets were saved through faith in a promise pertaining to a redeemer. They had very little light, yet it was their passion to search their own writings inspired by the Holy Spirit and to inquire as to what those things meant.
How much more then, should we who have the full revelation of Jesus Christ, and the scriptures, both Old and New, be passionate and diligent about the search and inquiry of the nature of our great salvation?
PREDICTED BY THE SPIRIT
The prophecies of the Old Testament were divinely inspired as is all of Scripture. Paul assured Timothy,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3:16-17
And Peter will later specifically mention the role of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration of the Bible.
“…for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:21
Here in his first letter he uses the phrase, ‘…the Spirit of Christ within them…” The eternal Christ is inseparable from the Father or the Holy Spirit, ‘Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is One!’ (Deut 6:4),.
Now here we have an amazing truth. Christ Himself announcing through men the sufferings that He would later come and accomplish, followed by glories.
Listen to a few.
In Psalm 22 there is a description of what He is experiencing on the cross. There is too much to read it all but later you can go and read that whole Psalm. Just listen to verses 14-18
“I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”
And Isaiah 53:4-6
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
You can also read Daniel chapter 9 verses 24-26 in your own study time.
He also predicted through the prophets the glory that was to result in what He accomplished at the cross.
Daniel 7:13-14
“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
Zechariah 2:10-13
“Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 “The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”
Then in chapter 12 of Zechariah the prophet speaks of Christ’s return to earth and the first look His people, the nation of Israel get of Him.
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”
Peter says that the Spirit of Christ within them was clearly indicating these future events that pertained to the plan of salvation. Interestingly, and also by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter knows and asserts that it was revealed to them by the same Holy Spirit that what they were writing was for future generations and the nations of the world, not just for their own edification.
So they believed these things and through faith gained God’s approval, as is revealed to us in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.
The Old Testament believers were declared right with God through faith in a future revealing of His grace. They didn’t know a name. They didn’t have a face to put to it. They knew it would be a Man. Even Job declared faith in the future fact that his “Redeemer lives” and would in the latter days take His stand upon the earth. Job 19:25 The Old Testament believers were justified by faith in a promise that pertained to redemption.
In the same way, New Testament believers, by the instruction of the Scriptures and the witness of the Holy Spirit within them, are justified by faith in a redemption that has been purchased; a grace that has been provided. All are saved by faith through grace; Old Testament and New.
The cross is the hinge upon which both history and redemption turn.
PREACHED BY THE APOSTLES
Well, Peter goes on to say in verse 12, “…they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven –“
He is referring of course to himself and the other Apostles. He is the one who delivered the first evangelistic sermon, announcing the good news of salvation on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came as promised to live in all who believe.
Later others were anointed by God for this same service. Paul. Barnabas. Timothy. Silas. Philip. James and others.
And the preaching goes on today. It began as Jesus said it would, in Jerusalem then in all Judea, then Samaria and spread to the remotest parts of the earth.
It is the message of our great salvation, decreed and declared by God who is full of compassion and mercy, then obediently announced by His holy prophets who, by the Holy Spirit, told of this great salvation by their actions, by their words, by their writings and even by their deaths.
Then the Holy Spirit came down, sent by our Lord Himself, to indwell believers and lead us into all truth so that this great salvation might be joyfully proclaimed until the day He calls us home.
Hear the rejoicing from the heart of this great preacher of the 19th century as he faithfully carries the fire that the Holy Spirit lit so long ago in His ministers:
“All that God can demand of a believing sinner, Christ has already paid, and there is no voice in earth or heaven that can accuse a soul that believes in Jesus after that. You were in debt, but a friend paid your debt; no writ can be served on you. It does not matter that you did not pay it; it is paid and you have the receipt. That is sufficient in any fair court. So all the penalty that was due to us has been borne by Christ. It is true I have not borne it; I have not been to hell and suffered the full wrath of God, but Christ has suffered that wrath for me, and I am as clear as if I had paid the debt to God and suffered His wrath. Here is a rock upon which to lay the foundation of eternal comfort! Let a man get to this truth: my Lord outside the city’s gate bled for me as my surety, and on the cross discharged my debt. Why then, great God, I no longer fear your thunder. How can you condemn me now? You have exhausted the quiver of your wrath; every arrow has already been used against my Lord, and I am in Him clear and clean, absolved and delivered, as if I had never sinned.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Advice for Seekers (reprint; Carlisle, Pa., Banner of Truth, 1993)
PONDERED BY THE ANGELS
Do you ever think about what Heaven must be like and just let your imagination go, thinking about it in vague terms, of course, since we haven’t yet seen it. Terms like ‘splendor’, ‘beauty’, ‘peace’, ‘majesty’; and do you ever think about what it’s like to be an angel?
I mean, we don’t usually spend a lot of time actually dwelling on the nature of angels, but they certainly must be extremely intelligent. They are most certainly powerful. They travel like light.
I’m not doing a systematic teaching on angels here, so don’t ask me for scripture references. But I think these things are true.
The writer to the Hebrews quotes Psalm 104 and says that God was speaking of the angels calling them ‘winds’ and ‘flames of fire’.
So we can only try to imagine what a scene in Heaven must look like, with the angels there serving God and declaring His holiness perpetually.
Well, by the same token, the angels wonder about us. Of course, they can see us and watch us and they know what the world looks like and so forth, so they have an advantage over us in that respect.
But Peter uses language here that suggests they crane their necks; they bend down for a closer look, wondering about this great salvation.
The angels do not need redemption and demons cannot be redeemed. So they can never know what it is like to need and be recipients of God’s marvelous grace.
But they do have a deeply abiding interest in redemption. Listen to Revelation 5:7-12
“And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
The angels have been witness of the entire plan and provision of salvation, even playing a role as God had duties for them to perform in ministering to us who would inherit salvation Heb 1:14, and since praising and glorifying God is what they were created for I have to think that their longing to look deeper into these things is simply so that they might praise and glorify Him more.
According to what I just read from Revelation they will join us in singing the song of redemption even though they cannot fully understand it and will never experience it.
But Christians, we have. We experience redemption every day we wake and rise up, and we will experience its completion when He calls us to meet Him in the air and completes our glorification.
No matter what happens in your life, believer, no matter what things you suffer now or will have to face in future days, God has established you permanently and everlastingly before Him, clean and clear, debt paid in full, destined to stand with myriads on myriads and thousands on thousands, singing the song of the Lord’s redeemed; the song of our great salvation!
