“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” (p. 62, Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning)
“A man who could not see the end of his ‘provisional existence’ was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life. He ceased living for the future, in contrast to a man in normal life. Therefore the whole structure of his inner life changed; signs of decay set in…” (p. 66, Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning)
“It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future….and this is his salvation in the most difficult moments of his existence, although, he sometimes has to force his mind to the task.” (p. 68, Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning)
3 facets of God’s living hope that enables His children to live now through any circumstance with joy
I. The Promise of a New Creation – A Blessed Coming Reality Where God’s Children and Creation Are As It Should Be (1 Peter 1:3-5)
A. In you - “Born again”
“…who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again...”
Ephesians 2:1-3, 12 - And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest…having no hope and without God in the world.
B. In creation – a coming indescribable “inheritance”/”salvation” – the only way to describe it is in the negative – “imperishable”, “undefiled,” “unfading”
1 Peter 2:4-6 - And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
II. The Provision of a New Meaningful Way of Life Now – Faith Refined and On Display (1 Peter 1:6-9)
1 Peter 1:6-7 - In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
A. Faith - a “precious” way of life
B. Trials - a testing and purifying of “loves”
1 Peter 1:8-9 - …and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 4:12-13 - Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
III. The Prospect of Glory (1 Peter 1:10-12)
A. “suffering and glories to follow”
B. “praise, glory, and honor” (v. 7)
1 Peter 1:7 - …so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Austrian born Viktor Frankl was a Jewish Medical doctor in psychiatry.
This picture is from 1929 when he was twenty-four years old.
He had interactions with famous psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler.
He practiced in the 1930’s in Austria.
If you know your history well, being a European Jew in the 1930’s was not good.
Hitler annexed Austria.
As a Jew, Frankl and his family were taken into a concentration camps.
Viktor Frankl was the only member of his family that survived the experience.
He wrote a book that was published in Germany in 1946 entitled Man’s Search for Meaning which detailed his psychological observations about individuals coping in the most horrific of circumstances.
Facing injustices most of us could not imagine and conditions that most animals do not live in,…
Frankl mentions men succumbing to the brutality by becoming brutal themselves…
Frankl describes the most common understandable response of men— simply giving up.
- He recounts a story of a man who had a dream that the war would be over one year by the end of March. The man hung on to that hope until the end of March came…. and went without release.
- Within days, when his hope was not realized, he gave up. His body shut down and he died.
While some men turned brutal, most gave up, only a few tried to make the most of their horrific circumstances
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” – p. 62, Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Frankl would conclude about those who gave up that,
“A man who could not see the end of his ‘provisional existence’ was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life. He ceased living for the future, in contrast to a man in normal life. Therefore the whole structure of his inner life changed; signs of decay set in…” – p. 66, Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
He also made the insightful observation about man,
“It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future….and this is his salvation in the most difficult moments of his existence, although, he sometimes has to force his mind to the task.” – p. 68, Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Here is what Frankl is saying,
- “The prisoner who lost hope in the future was doomed”
- Or, a man cannot live without hope regarding something in the future.
- Or, another way of saying this is—what we anticipate in the future drives everything we do today.
- Or,—if there is perceived to be no future, then a man is not long from his death.
Today in the second part of our New Year’s series, Hope for Everyday Life we are studying today.
Born Again Into a Living Hope
Turn to 1 Peter 1.
That is on pg. 180 in the NT, the back section of the Bible in the chair in front of you.
If you are new to scriptures, this book is written by an individual known as the apostle Peter.
Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples who God had transformed from an impulsive unstable man to a steadfast, stable rock on which the early church was founded.
Peter is likely in prison, undergoing significant suffering, as he writes this letter.
And he is writing to a group of churches who are facing rising persecution— most likely during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero.
Christians in pockets of the Roman empire were under threat of
- Loosing livelihoods
- Loosing possessions
- And loosing their very own lives
Let me just say, in 21st century USA we do not know this kind of oppression.
Nevertheless, becoming a Christian in any time and location did not and does not mean that life goes smooth.
Becoming a Christian then, meant that you were declaring allegiance to the true King of the Universe, Jesus and not the Roman Emperor
In general, the kingdoms of man do not recognize the one King Jesus, nor His value system,
Thus, until Jesus comes back a second time, there will always, “say always” be conflict between the kingdoms of this world and the Kingdom of God—and the Christian is always on the precipice of tension in this world.
So, in this environment that made it obvious that this world is not where security is found, Peter, reminds his audience of their hope for the future.
Remember what we believe about the future determines the way we live now.
Man can only live by looking at the future…and Peter reminds them of what the only glorious future is that can provide living hope and thus perseverance, even with joy now.
This living hope is essential to every believer.
And without which, a believer cannot and will not live the life God has called him to.
Starting in verse 1, of 1 Peter 1, this is the Word of the Lord.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Peter reminds his audience and us of what is coming…
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,5who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Then Peter reminds us of how what is coming should impact us now…
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
Then Peter tells us that this hope had a surprising non-understood tension in the past….
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11seeking 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. 12It 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.
This morning we are looking at
Three facets of God’s living hope that enables His children to live now through any circumstance with joy
The first facet of God’s living hope is
I. The promise of a new creation—a blessed coming reality where God’s children and creation are as it should be (1 Peter 1:3–5)
Maybe there were moments of times over the recent past holidays…maybe just a moment…where there was no tension, no temptation to sin, no strife, no arguing, just basking in the beauty of a warm fireplace, twinkling lights of Christmas, with a cup of luxurious hot cocoa and just a sigh of “this is how it should be..silent night all is calm all is bright…”
Then the silent night is shattered with
- the kids arguing over who has had the new toy the longest.
- Then Aunt Nova calls with the latest crisis and monetary request and
- Then, the new Christmas puppy poops all over the carpet,
- And a spark from the fireplace sets the stockings on fire
- The doctor calls with the results of your biopsy and its not good.
- All is not as it should be and it is no longer a silent night and you sin in your response.
All is not right…All is not as it should be.
The apostle Peter reminds believers that there is coming a time when all is as it should be….a new creation is coming.
It will be a new and sure reality
And this new and sure reality has to first start
In you—“Born again”
“…who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again..”
“Born again” is a loaded term
In order for God’s people to have a future—they have to be, “say it with me” –“Born again”
That means that your previous birth, in and of itself, into this world has no what? Has no future, has no hope!!!
Your first birth as great as that is, and I desire for you that everybody you know celebrates the day of your first birth, but friend, the only birth that has a future is the 2nd birth.
Let me give a vivid illustration as to why.
Ed Clowney in his commentary on 1 Peter used the following illustration and I am quoting from Ed Clowney now.
“In his play No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre gives his own vision of hell. Two women and a man, doomed to perdition, enter a room that seems to threaten no torment. (no flames of judgement) But they are sentenced to remain together in that same room for ever—without sleep and without eyelids. All three enter with pretensions about their past. The man pretends that he was a hero of the revolution. In reality, he was killed in a train wreck when he tried to escape after betraying his comrades. The women have even more sordid lives. In the forced intimacy of the room their guilty secrets are all wrung out. Nothing can be hidden, and nothing can be changed. Sartre’s imagination has well prepared us for his famous line, ‘Hell is other people.’ But the moral of the play is the line of doom to which the drama moves: ‘You are—your life, and nothing else.’ Edmund P. Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter: The Way of the Cross, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 43.
“Hell is other people” and “You are your life, and nothing else.”
C.S. Lewis pictured this in a similar way in his book The Great divorce when he described the grumbler on earth becoming an eternal grumble in Hell
Your first birth results in this and nothing else.
You are all that your first birth entails and nothing else
Born of sinful Adam and Eve…your DNA is set and you become what you are and nothing else…
Theologically, Paul, Peter’s peer characterized our first birth this way
Eph 2:1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest….12…, having no hope and without God in the world.
“Hell is other people” and “You are your life, and nothing else.”
Imagine, being the sum total of all of your lusts, all of your sins, all of your failures, all that is intrinsic to fallen man.
In Hell that is what everybody will be forever with out God.
- Imagine that sin your are struggling with right now…imagine not even the mercy of being aware of it and having “a struggle”.
- Imagine being all of that sin and not even knowing it!
- Imagine walking step by step, in an ever increasing pace blind, deaf, into eternal destruction.
I am trying to paint a picture of hopeless ness. How am I doing?
Its hard to imagine a world filled with this kind of people but the Bible describes such a world…the world before the flood. Before God entered our world and begin to make promises of hope….
Thus…the new hope, the living hope has to start with humans….. you…. being born again….having the seed of God planted in you, spiritual DNA, that in due time will unfold into glory and eternal life.
This is why Peter says, “Born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”—new life in to that hopeless first birth.
Friend if you know well your first birthday but not your second, please seek out one of the pastors today. We would love to speak with you about how to be “born again” and you will have a second birthday that starts the new hope.
This new and sure living hope God then promises to extend
In creation—a coming indescribable “inheritance”/”salvation”—the only way to describe it is in the negative—“imperishable”, “undefiled,” “unfading”
For children of God, you were born again into a living hope destined to inherit something so glorious that Peter can only describe it in terms of what it is not.
Can you think of anything in this world that you have experienced that is
- 100% pure
- 100% eternal
- 100% secure
Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has never experienced anything in this world like that.
The only words that Peter has for what is coming for those who are born again are negative descriptors
- Imperishable
- Undefiled
- Unfading
And that is kept secure by the ultimate Power of the Universe—God Himself!
Peter alludes to this inheritance later in his epistle.
He describes a new creation that God is building, where God dwells with His people and all is as it should be….
1 Peter 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
“I WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED”
There are so many things in this world to be disappointed with…but this world is not all that there is...for those in Christ…
Say “I WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINED”
Friends, in order to flesh out this hope, I would encourage you to read or re-read Randy Alcorn’s book on “Heaven”
The first facet of God’s living hope is The promise of a new creation—a blessed coming reality where God’s children and creation are as they should be…. starting in you being “born again” and extending to a creation where God physically dwells with His People.
The second facet of God’s living hope that enables His children to live now through any circumstance with joy is.
II. The provision of a new meaningful way of life now—faith refined and on display (1 Peter 1:6–9)
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live can endure almost any how”
Viktor Frankl observed precisely that in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany.
That “why” of living became Man’s Search for Meaning …..
Those who lived by some form of faith in the future or hope are those that most likely persevered in those camps.
Those who did not perceive a future, decayed and died.
What Nietzsche and Frankl philosophized about and observed…Peter now declares, grounded not in the observations of these Nietzsche and Frankl but in the truth of the word of God —that the future hope gives meaning to our suffering existence now.
6In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ
Do you want meaning in life? Do you?
Then grasp what is most important to the God who created the world.
What is most important…to the most important being?
Who is the most important being? God?
What is most important or precious to him?
What is most important to God is not first… (I said first)
your morality,
not first your church attendance,
not first your tithing
It is his children’s.
Faith—A “precious” way of life
Did you hear the evaluation—“More precious than Gold”
Why is this this the “precious” commodity to God
Its not hard to see as we look at the text….
This is A faith that believes that there is a good Heavenly Father and as Good Fathers do, love their children and plan a future and a hope for their children.
A child that believes this about His father…is an indication of a love relationship…Peter goes there next…You love…him even though you have not seen Him…
God has loved us with the utmost love through his Son and for some mysterious reason He wants a love relationships with us!
Our faith in His inherent Goodness is an indication of our love for Him.
So, now, if God is most pleased with this kind of faith….
… if this is the most precious part of His people…let me ask you a question….then how can that be shown?
How will this kind of faith be evident to God, to you, to others….?
- What is the only kind of circumstance that puts on display to God your love for Him?
- What is the only kind of circumstance that will help you to see that your hope is not in this world, that your love is not for this world, a hope that assures your own heart
- What kind of circumstance will help others see the kind of love you have for your creator and redeemer and possibly help them find this hope as well…..,
How will that be shown Faith family…..?
Trials—a testing and purifying of “loves”
8and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
What are trials?
What is suffering?
When you boil it down trials and suffering are the stripping away of all that we see on this earth that we love….
Relationships
Pleasures
Conveniences
Possessions
Health
Our first birth tendency is to love all of these items and in them there is no hope….each one of these is fading, fleeting, defiled.
If any of these items are the foundations of our life…
If any of these are the loves of our life…
What happens in trials or suffering when they are stripped…?
- We despair.
- Despair is the lack of a future hope…
Faith Family, there is significant meaning to your suffering.
God is refining you and showing you that He, not anything in this world is all you need. He is your source of life, He is your greatest pleasure, He is your ultimate delight.
- And we need to be shown that through necessary trials.
- And we need our love, our faith to be refined now, this year, 2023
- God is working!
That is why Peter says toward the end of this book right here
1 Peter 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
[Practical application right here possibly depending upon time]
The third facet of God’s living hope that enables His children to live now through any circumstance with joy is.
III. The prospect of glory (1 Peter 1:10–12)
This last paragraph of this section of the first chapter of Peter ends by describing a tension that all saints before the redemption plan did not understand…and all angels did not quite understand….sufferings of Messiah and the Glories to follow.
Very simply…most thought the Messiah would come in great power first…ruling and by force of his might simply make things right…..
The Father is showing forth something entirely different
The OT gives hints at a ruling conquering messiah, but also a strange suffering Messiah….
This was a mystery…
“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.”
This something was unknown to even the angelic beings…
This is something the angelic beings cannot understand…but they long to..
This is something that only humans can understand….
In the grand scheme of God’s glorious plan, God is showing forth a part of the essence of His character—LOVE
Governments, Power Hierarchies, Institutions do not run by LOVE AND GRACE
The angelic hierarchies don’t run that way either…
But in God’s Kingdom what is thrust forward as the greatest of all—faith hope and love…but the greatest of all is love….
Thus….The one who had the right to glory….to rule in God’s Kingdom must go through suffering first….and show…forth His love……
And the Messiah was part of that marvelous display.
On the cross….God and Christ’s love is called “the time of His Glorification”
Christ maintained his faith and Hope in His Father’s righteousness through something worse than a concentration camp….
And God the Father…recognizing Christ’s pure love….raised him up from the dead and said…This one….This one is the one in whom I am well please….and He will then establish a coming righteous Kingdom….
And Christ is given the right to rule….
“suffering and glories to follow”
But what about you….?
Does being in Christ and following in his footsteps results in the same pattern? Suffering then glory…..
“praise, glory, and honor” (v. 7)
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ
What hope! in receiving praise from the only praise worthy one!!!!
I recognize there is much debate about this verse’s ambiguity….regarding who is being praised….is it us…is it Christ…
What is the answer to that…yes….both…
Christ took our sin that we might have his righteousness.
Christ took our condemnation that we might share in his praise……
So, Christian, God is refining your love to give you a pure love that will be praise worthy because of Christ.
…..To take you into a loving relationship with Him for ever
Only humans can know this type of love relationship with the God of the Universe
Angels cannot….
Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s search for meaning recounts a story about the power of a future hope in his own life.
He recalls, the following:
Almost in tears from pain (I had terrible sores on my feet from wearing torn shoes), I limped a few kilometers with our long columns of men from the camp to our work site. Very cold, bitter winds struck us. I kept thinking of the endless little problems of our miserable life. What would there be to eat tonight? If a piece of sausage came as extra ration, should I exchange it for a piece of bread? Should I try to trade my last cigarette…for a bowl of soup.? How could I obtain a piece of wire to replace the fragment which served as one of my shoelaces? …..
Frankl goes on to list more “trivial problems” –that’s what he calls them….listen…..
“I became disgusted with the state of affairs which compelled me, daily and hourly to think of only such trivial things. I forced my thoughts to turn to another subject. Suddenly I saw myself standing on the platform of a well-lit, warm and pleasant lecture room. In front of me sat an attentive audience on comfortable upholstered seats. I was giving a lecture on the psychology of the concentration camp! …By this method I succeeded somehow in rising above the situation, above the sufferings of the moment,
If he could “rise above” the moment by picturing a future lecture…how much more ……could the promise of living God….that he will renew us and creation, take His people into a relationship with him, and experience an un imaginable glory that angels cannot…..how much more should then we consider also these trials as momentary and light afflictions….and Rejoice….
Let’s pray.
Authors
