1 Peter 1:10 to 1:12 - Zac Poonen - Verse By Verse Study

 

The Superior Grace of the New Covenant

A Verse-by-Verse Exposition of 1 Peter 1:10–12 (Complete Sermon Notes – Preserving Every Point and Illustration from the Original Teaching)

Introduction – The Context of Verse 10

• Last week we studied verse 9: “the salvation of your souls”
• This salvation is the deliverance of our whole personality from ALL the evil effects of sin inherited from Adam in the flesh
• Effects inherited: selfishness, self-centredness, independence from God, pride, hardness of heart, and many other evils
• Jesus came to save us from these through:
  • His death (which purchased this salvation)
  • The gift of His Holy Spirit

1 Peter 1:10 – The Prophets’ Earnest Search

Verse 10 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry…”

• The Old Testament prophets prophesied about “the grace that would come to you”
• They made careful search and inquiry (Greek: diligent, painstaking investigation)
• J.B. Phillips translation: “The Old Testament prophets did their utmost to discover and obtain this salvation”
• Key observation: These godly men never personally experienced this full salvation

What the Old Testament Saints Could Experience

• Forgiveness of sins only (not deliverance from sin’s power)
  • Psalm 103: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, who forgives all your iniquities”
  • Psalm 32: “Blessed is the man to whom the LORD will not impute iniquity”
• They had to keep coming back with sacrifices again and again because they kept on sinning
• Under the Old Covenant there was NO hope of ever being freed from this perpetual cycle of sin → sacrifice → sin → sacrifice

The Superiority of the New Covenant

• The New Covenant is different, better, and superior
• John 1:17 – “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”
• Grace came exclusively through the Lord Jesus Christ

Grace Is Not Merely “Unmerited Favour”

• Common misunderstanding: Grace = God’s unmerited favour
• Rebuttal: God’s unmerited favour has been shown since Adam
  • Genesis 3 – God clothed Adam and Eve with coats of skin and promised a coming Redeemer
  • Every person in the Bible received God’s unmerited favour
• But they did NOT receive Grace
• Grace is a distinctly New Testament reality
  • Appears only a few times in the Old Testament, always prophetically (e.g., Zechariah 12:10 – “I will pour upon the house of David…the spirit of grace” fulfilled at Pentecost)
• Grace arrived through the finished work of Christ

The Longing of the Prophets

• They prophesied of a coming grace they themselves could not enter into
• They longed for inward purity and deliverance
  • David (Psalm 51:6,10)
    • “Thou desirest truth in the inward parts”
    • “Create in me a clean heart, O God; renew a right spirit within me”
    • David knew what God desired, prayed for it, but could not obtain it
    • He fell again and again – a clean heart was not possible under the Old Covenant
• The law could only clean the outside; it could never produce inward truth and purity

Paul’s Experience under the Old Covenant (Romans 7)

• As a zealous Old Covenant man, Paul longed to fulfil God’s law
• He discovered an indwelling “fount of corruption” in his flesh that always led to failure
• The law exposed the inner lack but could not remove it
• Romans 8:3 – “What the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God has now done…”
  • By sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
  • Condemning sin in the flesh of Jesus
  • So the requirement of the law CAN now be fulfilled in us through the Spirit of grace

1 Peter 1:11 – What the Prophets Investigated

Verse 11 “…seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”

• The Spirit prophesying in them was the Spirit of Christ
• They were speaking of future events:
  • The sufferings of Christ
  • The subsequent glories
• They tried to discover:
  • To what time
  • To what circumstances the Spirit of Christ was pointing
• God revealed to them that these things were NOT for themselves but for a future generation

1 Peter 1:12 – The Privilege of the New Testament Believer

Verse 12 “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now 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.”

Four Great Revelations in Verse 12

1. The message has now been announced to us
   • Through the apostles and New Testament preachers
   • By the same Holy Spirit sent from heaven (the same Spirit of Christ who spoke in the prophets)
2. The message is now fulfilled
   • Jesus has come in our flesh
   • Was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin
   • Condemned sin in His flesh
   • Overcame sin completely
   • Opened a new and living way
   • Finished the work on the cross
   • Poured out the Holy Spirit
   • We can now receive grace to overcome as He overcame
3. This is the gospel (good news)
   • Not merely forgiveness of sins
   • But freedom from sin’s power
   • The very thing the prophets longed for but could not experience
4. Even the angels long to look into these things
   • They desire a clearer glimpse, a deeper understanding
   • They know the way of salvation theoretically but have never experienced it as redeemed sinners
   • Illustration: The angel sent to Cornelius (Acts 10)
     • The angel knew the way of salvation
     • Yet could not proclaim the gospel himself
     • He could only say, “Send for Peter”
     • Because Peter was a sinner saved by grace who had experienced it
     • Angels would delight to preach this gospel, but the privilege belongs to redeemed humanity

Conclusion – The Greatness of Our Privilege

• Old Testament prophets: godly men who longed for this salvation but could not obtain it
• Angels in heaven: holy beings who desire to understand it more fully but cannot experience it
• We today possess this glorious salvation freely
  • Forgiveness of sins
  • Deliverance from sin’s power
  • Inward purity by the Spirit of grace
• Let us never treat lightly the unspeakable privilege that is ours in Christ Jesus under the New Covenant.

“Things into which angels long to look…” – and we live in them every day.

Same notes from Notebook LM:

The Superior Salvation: Grace and the Prophetic Longing (1 Peter 1:10–12)

I. The Nature of Salvation and the Old Testament Context (Verses 9-10)

A. The Salvation of the Soul

The salvation referenced in 1 Peter 1:9 is described as the salvation of our souls. This entails the deliverance of our whole personality from all the evil effects of sin inherited from Adam in the flesh. These evil effects include traits such as being selfish, self-centered, independent of God, proud, and hard.

Jesus has come to save us from this condition. He has purchased this salvation for us through His death and given us His Holy Spirit so that our personalities might be delivered from these inherited evil effects.

B. The Prophets’ Inquiry

Concerning this comprehensive salvation, the Old Testament prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to New Testament believers made careful search and inquiry.

The prophets never experienced this salvation. They experienced the forgiveness of sins, as seen in Psalm 103 ("who forgives all your iniquities") or Psalm 32 ("blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity"). This level of experience was as far as the Old Testament saints could go.

II. The Limitations of the Old Covenant

A. Perpetual Sinning and Forgiveness

Under the Old Covenant, God could forgive the saints their misdeeds and disobediences. However, they had to keep coming back with sacrifices again and again and again because they kept on sinning. There was no hope under the Old Covenant of ever being freed from this perpetual repetition of sinning and asking for forgiveness.

B. The External Nature of the Law

Old Testament figures, despite their godliness, could not have the salvation experienced under the New Covenant.

1. David's Desire: David, the prophet, longed for more, writing in Psalm 51:6, "Thou desirest truth in the inward part, O God," and praying, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, renew a right spirit within me". Although he prayed this prayer, it could not be his; he fell again, and he could not have that pure heart or truth inwardly in his heart which is available under the New Covenant.

2. The Law's Reach: The law could only clean up a man's life on the outside; that is all David could experience.

3. Inner Corruption: Even Paul, when he lived as an Old Covenant man, longed to fulfill God's law but found a "fount of corruption" in his flesh that always led into failure. The law only exposed his inner lack.

III. The Superiority of Grace (The New Covenant)

A. Grace Defined

The New Covenant is different, better, and superior because the grace that has come through the Lord Jesus Christ is superior and greater than the law which came through Moses. John 1:17 states that the law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ.

While many understand grace to mean God's unmerited favor, this unmerited favor has been bestowed on the human race ever since Adam (e.g., God making a coat of skin and promising a Redeemer in Genesis 3). Every human being in the Bible received God’s unmerited favor, but they did not receive Grace.

Grace is a distinctly New Testament word that occurs on very few occasions in the Old Testament, usually as a prophecy of what was yet to come. The spirit of grace, prophesied in Zechariah 12:10, was poured out on the Day of Pentecost and came through the work of Jesus Christ for us.

B. Deliverance from Sin's Power

Under the New Testament, believers can experience a salvation that is more than forgiveness of sins. We can experience a deliverance from sin's Power which Old Covenant believers could not experience.

The prophets longed for purity within. They did their utmost to discover and obtain this salvation, yet they could not have it freely as New Testament believers do today.

IV. The Fulfillment in Christ (Verses 11-12)

A. Christ’s Sufferings and Glories

The Old Testament prophets inquired and prophesied about this grace that was to come. They tried hard to discover to what time and what circumstances the Spirit of Christ in them was referring to.

1. The Prophetic Subject: The Spirit of Christ was speaking about the sufferings of Christ and the great glories that were to follow the sufferings of Christ. These events were yet in the future.

2. A Blessing for the Future: God told the prophets that they were dealing with matters that were not meant for themselves. They felt sad because they longed for this blessing but could not enter into it; God made it clear these things were only for those who were yet to come. Despite this, they served in the spirit of Christ in their generation.

B. The Work is Finished

What the law could not fulfill (due to its weakness through the flesh), God has now done by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.

1. Condemnation of Sin: Jesus came in our flesh, was tempted as we are, and has overcome sin. Sin was condemned in the flesh of Jesus (Romans 8:3).

2. New Way: Jesus has made a New and Living Way for us to walk in. He died on the cross, the work is finished, and the Holy Spirit has been poured out. We can now receive grace through the Holy Spirit so that we too can overcome.

C. The Announcement of the Gospel (Verse 12)

This glorious salvation, which is much more than forgiveness of sins, has now been announced to you through those who preach the gospel (the apostles/messengers of Jesus Christ). This announcement is made by the same heaven-sent Holy Spirit—the same Spirit of Christ that was prophesying in the prophets. This gospel is the good news that the prophets longed to have experienced in their own lives but could not.

V. The Angels’ Privilege (Verse 12)

The sources note something further in verse 12: these are things into which even the angels of heaven long to look. The angels long to have a clear glimpse of or to understand these truths. They would give a great deal to know more about it, though they cannot know it in the same way that believers can.

A. Angels' Limitations

Angels know the way of salvation theoretically. However, an angel sent to Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile seeking God, could not proclaim the good news to him. The angel only knew it in theory. The angel could only instruct Cornelius to send for Peter, because Peter is a sinner saved by grace who had experienced it.

B. The Human Privilege

The privilege we have is to proclaim this wonderful Gospel of forgiveness of sins and freedom from sin's power. This is a privilege that even angels do not have. We should understand the greatness of this privilege.