A Glorious King
1 Peter 1: 1-12
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For Advent
1999 |
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A good friend loaned me a book recently on spiritual survival of the Y2K event soon to be upon us. Now, as I have consistently stated in this next to last year of the second millennium, I firmly believe that any technological and even economic dislocations that actually do come our way, will be little more than speed bumps in a parking lot! And if you are reasonably prepared for surviving a blizzard or temporary power outage, you should be in good shape!
My personal worries and prayers are more closely focused upon what unscrupulous, unprincipled and power hungry politicians could possibly do in the midst of such an expected crisis! Of course, grinch like I could ruin your whole holiday were I to recite Executive order after executive order which could allow federal executive seizure of: communications media, electrical power facilities, fuels, minerals, food supplies, farms and equipment, transportation and vehicles of every kind, conscription of citizens for work forces, health, welfare and education facilities, airports and aircraft, housing for forced relocation of citizens, railroads, inland waterways and storage facilities. Yes, these are on the Federal register, just in case an extreme dislocation of the country warrants a martial ordering of this kind.
However, I do not think that Congress is cowed enough, nor the American military run down enough for even this worse case scenario to come about. From a private source, I would guess that between 75% to 90% of our military would choose Congress and the Constitution over any such executive nonsense.
All Americans seem to have a built in resistance to monarchical overtones whether they be postured by any presidential Peacock or even his first mate! In fact, that short list which I recited should raise the hackles of all but the most dedicated socialists. Kings and Emperors, Despots and Dictators are truthfully out of sync with the democratic yearnings of the least influential members of the peoples of this world. Just let Fidel Castro demand that a small boy be returned to his communist paradise and hear the reactions of any free citizens. The bringing back of any "divine right" of kings or even a kindly despot rings hollow even in heads empty of everything but lollipops and sugar plums!
It was not without reason and support that our founding fathers risked life, liberty and property for freedom! The roots of the religious Reformation transformed more than just the churches, because out of the Reformer's desire to put every aspect of life under the Lordship of Christ - there came the twin blessings of Capitalism and representative democracy. True, the Reformed faith is barely lisped in our time, but the by products of that faith are truly enjoyed beyond measure.
However, I say all of this to prepare you for a shocking realization that our true and best interests are better served if we are willing to submit to an all powerful King! Let me give you an example:
A couple years ago, I was driving home late at night, when a grey fox limped into the glare of my headlights. He was wild and free, but what a shaggy dog like creature he appeared to be. He would have been better off if I hadn't slowed down and stopped to let him limp on his way. His fur was matted and torn, some disease had left patches of skin here and their, he had obvious cuts and bruises on his taunt scarred body. And his little tail, which normally would have advertised the perkiness of his gallant life of hunting, was half-broken and hanging down. You could count all of his ribs and the way he wasn't moving hinted that he would find no prey that night. Starvation was probably staring him in the face!
By contrast I remember seeing a captive fox in an area zoo. This fortunate creature had a name engraved in bronze on the front of his cage. There was a shade tree, his water dish was full and his morning meal was half left in the other dish. The yard which was fenced off for him allowed a lot of space for running and across the fence could be seen his Vixen playing with the kitts. I am sure that he had all of his shots, his fur was gleaming and as he awoke from his morning nap, he casually flopped his tail from one side to another in what I took for a gesture of contentment!
I know, the fur righteous would be indignant at his loss of freedom, but that is not the purpose of my story. In the grand scheme of eternity, which fox would you rather be? Totally free to live and die by chance and a fickle finger of fate. Or would you rather be a kept captive under the Lordship of a kind and loving Creator God?
Be careful how you answer that question! Because if you choose the latter, there is much to learn about living under His lordship. And I would hope that we might voluntarily learn to appreciate the Kingship of our Sovereign God than be forced into a similar humanistic relationship inspired by the dark powers who would posture in the farcical image of a wicked beast and a woman in red at the end of the Age.
The intent of the passage before us is to commend A Glorious King to us who would rule over us well. Now this Sovereign King allows his elect pilgrims to roam at some will throughout the earthly planet where the true City of God exists in and about the earthly city where aspirations and allegiance are mixed indeed. The true church is dispersed across the face of the whole earth, and God's people may come from every tribe and family. We may safely presume that Peter is writing after the fall of Jerusalem and to all of those elect who have fled the desperate infighting amongst the wicked and pagan in and around Jerusalem.
We understand that those addressed are the true citizens of the Kingdom of heaven from the phrases used by the Apostle. Remember, this is not Paul the theologian, but Peter the humble fisher businessman who describes the church in Pauline terms.
"To the pilgrims ... elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ;"
Perhaps we should really say - in the theological terms of the whole church? There are elect here, known by God from before creation. These are lead in sanctification by the Spirit to put on the superior righteousness of Christ. And that righteousness is given in and through the blood of Jesus Christ, so that obedience may bring glory to both the Father and the Son.
We believe and understand that these are not empty phrases tossed around casually as "in talk" within the church, but a profound understanding of the Sovereign reign and Crown rights of our Creator God and King who is absolute in His majesty, power and holiness. This is how he chooses to recruit His own people, the citizens of His heavenly Kingdom, which we may know personally as The Kingdom of the Spirit. If it is ours to have and comprehend, there is the fact of "Grace to you" and the promise of "peace [to] be multiplied."
Are you comfortable in the foxy paradise of captivity yet? It does take some time and training to get used to. Like a well mannered house pet, there are limits to our roaming rights and our actions, habits and sins do reflect upon the reputation of the One who has claimed us. Now, I do not believe that that little fox in the zoo bowed his head and put his paws together in gratitude for all that he received, but we who are of a higher order in creation are expected to gather weekly in praise of Him who captured us and would rule over us well.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," invokes the Apostle here. Have you ever fondly remembered your father who taught you at least one thing well? He takes great pleasure in hearing good report of you. Just yesterday, as I was shopping a businessman complimented me on the hard work of my sons in and around the community! It is a great pleasure to hear those comments on a real regular basis. So does our Father in heaven appreciate the good name of His people when we reflect His glory before a watching world.
Just this Friday I lost two students who came to say goodbye. One to incarceration and the other to a junior college. Guess which one I hope tells people that they had me for a teacher! Yes, even we who belong to Christ are wretches living on the edge of reprobation, but there is hope evident in the great mercy of our God as we see in the next few phrases of Peter's instruction.
"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."
The born again experience is evident there in the opening and our only hope is pinned on the resurrection of Christ who would bring us at long last into an eternal inheritance. One of my friends once showed me a legal letter that they had received unexpectedly. It advised them that they had been named heirs to a small but respectable amount of money, which they decided to invest and put away for another day. By contrast, I know of another situation where an unredeemed couple who lived on the edge realized a small fortune suddenly and magically. For six to eight months they lived gloriously and bought what-so-ever their little hearts desired. Then the bank account went empty and their debts multiplied so that they had to sell their new found treasures for a song and ended up worse off than what they were before their ship came in and then sank in the harbor!
Yes, the obvious implication of being born again is the real sense that we would waste our inheritance just as Esau if we could, but the promise is given here that if the treasure of salvation is really real, then it is a permanent experience just waiting for a greater fulfillment at the end of the age. Look at the next few phrases to see why: "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."
Like a legal trust, the true treasures of salvation are kept in a place where we cannot squander them which we will finally realize at the end of the age when all heaven breaks loose and the elect come into glory. But, not yet! We may know without a doubt where we are going, but we live on the edge for a while longer, looking too longingly sometimes at the world and the freedom of the wild fox, but still He would test us to prove the affections of our hearts for Him who called us.
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need by, 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."
In the training of young dogs to hear the voice of their master, they are tested with freedom to run and play. Oh the temptation to run after the wild rabbit, to chase the big Mac Truck, to play with the white striped "kitty cat" in the woods. Too often, the appearance of freedom leads to disaster. Young Christians have often been led astray by worldly desires and sadly the statistics of worldly and christian youth show absolutely no impact from the fact of their devotion or lack thereof!
I am often surprised by the readily apparent morals of "devout" pagans and saddened at the real failings of those who claim the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Would that the faith show a real difference between the godly and the ungodly! So sadly, the church of Christ has lost its edge in promoting morality and training in righteousness. Is this because, our democratically appraised youth have no notion of kingship? Perhaps we should better make this reality known and then go on to live lives that befit the eternal city of God.
Yes, indeed, many many troubles assail us - sometimes because we actually do do the things that identify us as Christian and other times because we have called down the discipline of heaven when we have refused to want His godliness. I once got in a little trouble when a neighbor's pure blooded dog gave birth to puppies that indicated that our shaggy mutt just had to be the father! So we kept a tight rein on our casanova only to discover later that fall that visitation rights worked both ways. I did indeed relish the moment when the neighbor came up to reclaim his blooded beauty. So we have to be careful and remember that wild foxes would tempt the captive ones as well as fight with them.
The next phrase reminds us of a real problem in appreciation. This is the fact that unlike the Apostles we cannot know Christ in the same way that they saw Him and talked with Him.
"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."
This Kingdom of the Spirit is aptly named, it is indeed different from the worldly pretensions all around us. Reality is not all it seems to be, the world with us is but a shadow of glories not seen. "All this and heaven too", goes an old saying. Well do we appreciate the real beauties of the earthly glories created by our God and King. But do we truly anticipate that which we cannot see? Can we truthfully realize that what the eye has not seen and what the ear has not heard are truly greater than all of our expectations? Well, if you have any viable joy in Christ - you can truthfully be assured that the reality of the coming heaven is ten to a hundred - even a thousand times ten thousand greater than all we can anticipate. The rhapsody of Peter's phrases at the end of this passage mark it off as one of the greater sections of the revelation record. And what brings him the the heights of ecstasy? "the salvation of your souls."
In an old magazine, I have some pictures of military organizations from the First World War. One of the pictures has hundreds of men arranged in the figure of their division patch - the Statue of Liberty. By contrasting colors worn by the men, detail is given to the image. In some places their faces look up into the camera - in others only the Montana peaks of their hats are evident. The whole is a combination of parts and only when the prints were made and the post cards sent home could the individuals and their families know they had been a part of something greater than themselves. War, as well as life, is a lot like that, the men who fight and die do not appreciate always exactly what they have done. Some actions are important and others not. Only the commander knows the big picture. Historians live to dig, dig, dig into the details so that they can show what happened and why.
In the last paragraph of this section, Peter tells us that the ancient prophets who did the bidding of the Spirit were working for our benefit and that only in time did the full purpose become known, and the King of Kings revealed before a disinterested world. But for you, the Lord has granted messengers who, like Peter diligently labor to expose the incredulous story within History. And that story is the the world is passing and its glory is fading. Fading before the far greater glory of the Real King and Ruler of this and all worlds.
We have a glorious King in Jesus Christ who in being revealed to you by Word and Spirit would give you the big picture so that you can email it home to those you love that they may know you have a part in eternity. What is that part that the angels desire to look into? Don't flatter yourself, it is not the fact that you are in the picture, but that any of us even made the cut at all! The Lord of heaven and earth has done a lot with wild foxes, He has brought them into His vineyard and established us there so that we may feast on Jesus and pass along His greater glory to the world. May we learn to give Him thanks for taking us and keeping us captive under His wings today and always. Amen.
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Resources Used | |
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Keener, Craig S. |
The IVP Bible Background Commentary:
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Johnston, W.B. |
Calvin's New Testament
Commentaries: |
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Schaff, Philip. |
Tyndale New Testament
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The New
Geneva Study Bible (NKJV) | |
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1Pt01a |
12 December 99 |