Faith Without Sight
1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted
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English Standard Version Chapter 1
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Consider how Peter ended verse 7. In the second half of verse 7 Peter points us to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the day when the sky splits, the trumpet blasts, and the graves burst open! The day when we will be gathered up, snatched up, and brought into the presence of our King. We look forward to that day, we long for that day, especially as we experience various trials, but
we are not left here at this time to feel left out and unloved.
We are not here to wonder whether we will see Him again.
We are not left here to be in a continual state of sadness.
We are not left here to be uncertain of our salvation.
Instead Peter is going to remind the church of Jesus Christ of the fruit they have recieved as those who have been born again, those who have been sanctified by the Spirit, those who have been saved for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood!
This morning I want us to see 4 Fruits of God’s saving work in the life of the believer.
I. Affection Without seeing Jesus Physically (8a)
I. Affection Without seeing Jesus Physically (8a)
Peter begins verse 8 contrasting verse 7 where he explains you will see Him. Then he comes to verse 8 and says, Though you have not seen him.
Even though Peter, the apostles and some other disciples of Jesus had seen Jesus, by the time of this writing more and more folks were being save who had not seen him. But that did not mean they could not have faith without sight.
Not everyone had the blessed experience of seeing, walking, with and listening to Jesus. The apostle John writes,
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
John writes the entire letter of 1 John to provide assurance for the believer and one of the tests he lays before the believer in 1 John is what? The Love test!
Here in Peter’s first letter he wants the elect exiles to know even though it is hard right now, even though you are grieved by various trials, rest assured Christ is coming back, even though you have not seen him, you love him.
Peter in a sense is saying,
You have a strong, affection and love for Jesus and your love is especially characterized by a willing forfeiture of rights or privileges in another person’s behalf.
John MacArthur explains, “The word love is the love of the will, the noblest form of love. The present tense indicates that Peter’s audience constantly loved their Lord.
How about you and me are we constantly loving the Lord?
This love Peter say’s the believer has is not just some temporary feeling or some passing emotion, this love expressed by the Christian is a regular, continual activity. Love is not something that just happens a couple times a week or a month but something we choose to do on an ongoing basis. something we grow in out of gratitude and care for another person.
Think about your spouse or your children, when do you stop loving them? Never, even when they hurt you, when they disrespect you, or even when they disobey you.
Now think about Jesus. He has never hurt you, or disrespected you, as a matter of fact He died for me and you! He love us and we disobeyed Him, disrespected Him, and we were the reason for His death on the cross, yet we know that He demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners He died for us!
Here is the question for us to consider, how are we demonstrating our love for Him?
Are we abiding in Him?
Are we taking up our cross, denying ourselves, and following him?
Are we obeying His commandments?
Are we loving one another, His church?
Is there anyone who understood this love for Jesus any better than Peter? Remember, after Peter had denied Christ around the campfire and went back to fishing, Jesus questioned Peter’s love for Him.
English Standard Version Chapter 21
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
I don’t know of anyone who has the qualifications to speak on loving Jesus the way Peter does. So when he tells these NT believers trust me, though you have not seen him you love Him, he had the experience and knowledge to back it up. Peter has seen Jesus perform miracles, be rejected by men, be transfigured, be led to the cross, the empty tomb, and finally watched Jesus ascend to His heavenly throne, so when he said Jesus is coming back, you could believe Him.
When he said though you have not seen Him (I have), you love Him!
Here is the key thing to remember about this love and affection the believer has for Jesus. The word Peter uses here is and indicative verb not an imperative. In other words, this love is something produced in us causing it to be a spiritual fruit in our lives.
English Standard Version Chapter 4
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
What then then does this love look like how would you know if we love Jesus and other?
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
1 Corinthians 13:4-
How about that for helping us evaluate our love for Him?
: 4-
Do you see how we have affection without seeing physically? It comes back to the work God has done in our hearts. Because God is love and abides in the believer, His love is perfected in us, that we might have confident when Christ returns! This love then is also manifested in that we have,
II. Faith Without seeing Jesus Physically (8b)
II. Faith Without seeing Jesus Physically (8b)
Notice what Peter says next,
Though you do not now see him, you believe in Him,
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary 3. Inexpressible Joy in Knowing Christ Himself (1:8–9)
The verb translated ‘believe’ (pisteuō) means here to ‘trust’ or to ‘rest one’s confidence in’ or to ‘depend upon’
How important was it for these pilgrims to put their trust in Jesus? Remember, they were walking through a time of persecution, rejection, and humiliation.
Not only do we have affection for Christ as believers, without seeing Him, we have faith in Christ without seeing Him.
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
You may think how can Peter be so confident in the fact that these believers have faith in a Savior whom they have not seen? How can the trust in a Christ whom they have not seen at the time of their trials? How can they believe in Jesus when they do not now see Him?
Paul makes it clear in Romans,
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
How is it that we believe without hearing?
God has given us the gift of faith alone in Christ alone.
The Spirit has open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, and our hearts to believe.
The Son was born in the flesh that we might behold His glory!
Jesus lived sinlessly and died sacrificially so that we might trust in Him.
Jesu
Jesus rose from the grave and was visible to the apostles and around 500 folks that we might have witness to trust their account.
so
The apostles died for the gospel message of Jesus Christ proving that He was worthy of our trust.
The apostle John recieved a vision of the Revelation of Jesus Christ so that we might know the end of the story, that our King would reign victorious in the final judgment and bring about the consummation of the New Heavens and the New Earth!
That at that time there would be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sin. But we would be gathered around the throne of the lame where we might serve and worship Him for ever and ever!
Because of this great hope, and our belief in the Savior, we
III. Rejoice Without Seeing Jesus Physically (8c)
III. Rejoice Without Seeing Jesus Physically (8c)
Because we have been born again, because we have a living hope through the resurrection, and because of Jesus’s coming revelation we love Him, we believe in Him and next Peter tells us we rejoice in Him.
Though you do not now see Him you believe in Him, and rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
If you had to explain the joy you have in Christ how would you do it?
The depth and width of our our joy in Christ is hard to explain or express, it is inexpressible “higher than speech”. There is something greater about our joy than what the world has. We can explain our joy is because of,
Our salvation from the penalty of sin.
Our adoption into the family of God.
The Holy Spirits illumination of the Word
Our ability to repent of sin.
The accountability of the local church.
The certainty of Christ return to gather His bride.
Our participation with the reign of Christ in the New Heavens and New Earth. Just to name a few. So is it inexpressible?
Spurgeon Commentary: 1 Peter Exposition
I think also that Peter calls our joy “inexpressible” because, if we were to try to explain or describe it to carnal men, they could not understand us. You cannot explain to a person who has never tasted honey how sweet it is. Neither can you explain to a man who does not know the joy of the Lord how joyous a thing it is. He could not comprehend what your words meant; you would be talking to him in an altogether unknown tongue.
Why is our joy full of glory (doxazo) “to render highest praise.”?
What are other things the world finds joy in?
Family, Sports, Sin, Money, Work, is their glory in these things? No they are all perishable, fading, and defiled. None of them in themselves are glorious, full of brightness, but all stained with sin. This is why we should remember the love and faith we have in Jesus Christ is filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory!
In this we rejoice....
IV. Obtaining Salvation Without Seeing Jesus Physically (9)
IV. Obtaining Salvation Without Seeing Jesus Physically (9)
English Standard Version Chapter 1
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Here is what we must understand first, Peter is not saying we are not fully saved until we love Christ enough, until we have the right amount of faith, and until our joy is complete. Once God has caused us to be born again, we have been regenerated by the Sprit of God, and believed in the person and work of the Son of God we are saved to the uttermost. We hare saved completely, fully, and we will not be snatched out of the hand of the Father! We have recieved eternal life. Our salvation cannot be lost, we are In Christ, we are in what Kevin Deyoung calls a theological union with Christ. We cannot be separated.
What Peter is talking about are obtaining the blessings of salvation. Salvation here refers to believer’s constant, present deliverance from then penalty and power of sin (J Mac).
and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
English Standard Version Chapter 6
having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14
These are the blessings of salvation we are daily obtaining. Every day we ought to love, trust, and rejoice in Christ more and more, because we recieved more liberty from sin, more redemption, more forgiveness, more grace, and more life in Christ!
How many of us would say our salvation is better to us than it was yesterday? A year ago? 5 years ago? It ought to keep getting better and better. As we continually love Jesus, believe in Jesus, and find our Joy in Jesus we gain more and more blessings of salvation.
These believers had the beginnings of heaven in the possession of holiness and a heavenly mind, in their duties and communion with God, in the earnest of the inheritance, and the witness of the divine Spirit.
How many of us think this is as good as it gets? None of us I hope, wait until that eastern sky splits, Jesus Christ comes out of the clouds with the sound of the trumpet, and the voice of the archangel, and snatches us up to be with Him forever! Where we will reign with Him, worship Him, sing praises to Him with all the saints, and serve Him forever and ever!
As good as our salvation is now, we ain’t seen nothing yet! When we receive the final outcome it will be even more be inexpressible when we won’t even need the sun, because the Son will be our light!