The Apostle Peter was writing a letter to a specific group of Christian diaspora. He was writing to the saints scattered across what we now know as Turkey or Asia Minor. We don’t know how many churches had been established there by Paul and others, but this epistle was meant to be passed between them all – from congregation to congregation. And we should probably assume that Peter’s desire was accomplished. Because there is no question that this epistle was considered to be a part of the canon of scripture.
After pointing out his recipients in verse 1, Peter described them with a single word. Out of several dozen options, he called them “God’s elect.” He didn’t call them “believers” although he could have, because they were indeed believers in Christ. He didn’t call them “Christians,” perhaps because that may have not been known to them at the time. The brethren in Antioch, Syria were the first to be called “Christians,” but that title may or may not have reached Antioch in Pisidia as yet. He didn’t call them “disciples” or any other appropriate term. He described them as “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” or we might simply say, “the elect of God.” Since, he didn’t go to any trouble to define or explain the term, can we assume he expected them to know and understand it? Shouldn’t we assume that this was not a term they hated or tried to avoid? Why is it that two thousand years later, Christians do exactly that? Why do so many try their best to avoid the word “elect” and the small group of related terms? Shame on us, because this is very clearly a Biblical term.
Beginning with that word, Peter follows a specific path which the Lord hs blazed and personally still maintains. It is a predetermined path to a special destination. It leads up to a predestinated conclusion. This evening we are only going to follow that path a short way, but Peter will take us further, later. It goes from election to obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Then it takes us to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved and guaranteed (verse 4). And just to make sure that God’s elect receive that inheritance, they are “kept by the power of God unto their salvation” (verse 5). It is predestinated that those whom God has chosen shall receive what the omnipotent, sovereign God has promised, despite “the trial of your faith” (verse 7). “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (verse 9).
Like hiking the Appalachian trail, we don’t have time to make the whole trip in one day. Tonight, let’s consider only what Peter tells us in verse 2. God’s diaspora are: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
What is it to be one of God’s elect?
I’ll take you to some etymology and theology in a moment, but what does the word “election” mean to the average American? We have periodic elections in order to choose people to represent us in our various governments. Ideally, thousands of people cast their ballots and declare their choice for their representatives. But in the case of this Biblical election there is only one vote cast: that of God.
The word Peter used here is “eklektos,” which coincidentally sounds related to our English word “election.” In our Bibles that word is translated “elect” sixteen times and “to choose” seven times. There is no doubt about the meaning of the word. This verse could have been translated as “CHOSEN according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Several times, as in Colossians 3:12 and II Timothy 2:10, Paul, like Peter, simply refers to Christians as “the elect” or “the chosen ones.”
We find that same Greek word in I Peter 2:9, where we hear the apostle say, “But ye are a CHOSEN generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” Why, and how, was it that we which were not a people are now the people of God? It is because God chose us; He elected to save us and make us His peculiar people.
The Lord Jesus used the verb form of “eklektos” in John 15: “Ye have not CHOSEN me, but I have CHOSEN you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain… If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have CHOSEN you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” Admittedly this is speaking of Jesus’ election of His disciples, but the principle of election applies to us and our salvation as well.
Paul said in Ephesians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; According as he hath CHOSEN us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having PREDESTINATED us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. To the praise of the glory of his grace, where in hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Before anyone is accepted in Christ, they must have been chosen by God the Father.
Peter begins with “the elect,” and then he starts down the trail which God has predetermined for them.
“Elect according to the FOREKNOWLEDGE of God.”
Here is where the rubber hits the icy road, and the tires begin to uselessly spin. What is the foreknowledge of God? To answer that question, we need to be willing to do several things. First, we need to be willing to let God speak, promising to act upon His instruction. Second, we need to be willing to think for ourselves, casting aside what other men have told us. And third, we need to get our Bibles out, because that is the text the Holy Spirit uses to teach us.
The word “foreknowledge” cannot to be found in the Old Testament, but the its root word, “to know” can. Turn to Amos 3:1-2 – “Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I KNOWN of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Can the omniscient God know ONLY Israel, if we use the common definition of “knowledge?” I don’t believe so. Apparently, the common human definition doesn’t apply to the God of Heaven. Our knowledge of knowledge isn’t the same as God’s knowledge. God’s knowledge of Israel was not the same as our knowledge of Israel.
Now turn to Jeremiah 1:4-5 – “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I KNEW thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Granted, the Lord was aware of the eventual birth of Jeremiah, but is that what He is saying here? Vitally connected to God’s “knowledge” of Jeremiah was the “sanctification” and “ordaining” of Jeremiah. And when did these three things take place? It was before the baby was born, and I believe that it took place in eternity past. When God uses the word “knowledge,” it almost always denotes His favor and His love – His calling. That is what we learn in looking at Jeremiah in this scripture. God’s “knowledge” is not merely a recognition of someone; it is His grasp of that person; His choice of him.
And this same use of the word can be found in the New Testament as well. Matt. 7:21-23 – “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never KNEW you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” If Jesus Christ is divine, then He possesses omniscience – infinite knowledge. This is what I believe. If Jesus possesses omniscience then He knows everything, everyone and every event. But here He says in the day of His full glorification and exaltation, He will tell people He didn’t know them. In what sense will He not know them? This is talking about the fact that He had no relationship – no saving relationship – with them. If John 10:14 only said, “I am the good shepherd, and I KNOW my sheep,” it might be argued that Christ was talking about His prescience – His knowledge of the future – but that isn’t all the verse. “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and AM KNOWN of mine.” Both the knowledge of Christ and the knowledge of the sheep are talking about a relationship of affection and much more, not simply recognition.
Turn to I Corinthians 8:1-3 – “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is KNOWN of him.” What can that mean except that God has a special relationship to those who love him? In fact, they love Him only because He first loved them; He knew them in a special way.
When God “knows” someone, it means more than just an awareness or recognition of that person. Once we begin to see that, then we will also begin to see that the “before” part of “foreknowledge” means more than to look into the future. God’s “foreknowledge” refers to His choice of people; His gracious establishment of a special relationship. From there “election” makes sense.
Let’s consider “FOREKNOWLEDGE” in the scripture more specifically.
The first use of the word “foreknow” is found in Acts 2:23: – “Him (Christ), being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” Notice what the verse doesn’t say: It doesn’t say that God knew that the Jews and Romans would crucify Christ. That is something so obvious that it would be silly to say it, because God knows all things. The verse says that Christ was crucified BY the will and FOREKNOWLEDGE of God. Digressing, I know that the sun is going to appear tomorrow morning. That is human foreknowledge. Does my knowledge of that fact cause the sun to appear? Of course not. Does the knowledge which God possesses cause things to take place? The answer is a lot more complicated, because God’s knowledge and will cannot be separated. It was determined by the counsel and decree of the Godhead that the Son would be crucified. But linked to that decree was the foreknowledge of God. God’s foreknowledge didn’t actually cause the crucifixion, but it was intimately connected to God’s foreordination.
That leads us to the question: Why was Christ Jesus crucified, and what was the cause? Wasn’t it all about love and grace? God’s foreknowledge is all about grace and love. Foreknowledge doesn’t speak of the Lord’s prescience; it speaks of God graciously choosing to love. God foreknows things because He has decreed them, and to say that He saves or even that He chooses to save because He sees what is going to happen is to put the cart before the horse.
Turn to Romans 8:29-30 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For WHOM he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Most of Christendom wants to tell us that verse 29 says that God foreknew of your repentance and faith, and so He reacted to what you were going to do, predestinating you to be conformed to the image of his son. But the verse doesn’t say anything about what God saw you do; it says that God foreknew you personally. And I believe that knowledge was in the sense of Him having special affection toward you. Besides, if God reacted to your repentance and faith, electing you to salvation, then that puts you in charge of your salvation. At that point it ceases to be salvation by grace.
Go back to I Peter 1:1-5 – “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” According to this scripture, what was it that God foreknew or foresaw these people doing which induced him to elect them? There is not a single human act or decision mentioned, because it wasn’t what they did which God foreknew; it was the people themselves. God foreknows His people, and that is different from His omniscience of what we will do.
The next step down this wonderful trail is the sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered… Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” What is it to “sanctify?” What is sanctification? It is the act of separating something for a special purpose. And in the case of the Lord, it is setting apart to and for Him, and it includes making that thing holy in His sight.
Visualize a billion people gathered out of every country around the world. In addition to other unique characteristics, they have a variety of religions and philosophies. But they are all sinners; every one of them; carrying the burden of their various transgressions. In fact, the Bible tells us that spiritually, each and every one of them are dead in trespasses and sins. I was one of them, and so were all the other Christians you know. Paul says in I Corinthians 6:9: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” How is it that thousands of those spiritually-dead sinners were washed, justified and sanctified? It wasn’t that they somehow revived themselves into spiritual life and then made the choice to be washed. No, they were chosen by God according to His eternal love, whereby the Holy Spirit set them apart to be washed and justified. They were “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
This morning, I touched on the next two steps of this journey which Peter mentions in this verse.
After the Lord’s sanctification of His elect people, they obeyed. What is this obedience? It is not the obedience of ordinances or rules of law. Peter is referring to the obedience of the gospel.
Earlier I referred to the Philippian jailer, who with a broken heart and great fear, said to Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The answer, the encouragement, the exhortation; the command was: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” And the man obeyed.
Similarly, in John 6, the Lord Jesus fed the five thousand and then led His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee to the western shore, but the people relentlessly followed him. “And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
Several scriptures teach of “the obedience of faith.” The obedience to which Peter referred is that of humbly submitting to God and trusting what Christ Jesus did on the cross. And what was it that Christ did on the cross? He gave his life a ransom for many. He shed his blood. It is that blood which the Holy Spirit applies to the elect of God, sanctifying and saving them.
The only way by which people dead in trespasses and sins will be blessed with Christ’s salvation begins with God the Father’s election. From there the Holy Spirit steps in and sets them apart from the billions of other lost souls. They are made alive in Christ by miraculous grace and power. They are born again, whereupon they obey the gospel through repentance and faith. And the blood of Jesus Christ is sprinkled upon them.
Eventually they – we are brought to the place where we cry out with Peter: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”