1 Peter, Day 2: 1 Peter 1:1-5 - What are the Elect Chosen For?

What are the Elect Chosen For?

1 Peter 1:1-5

1 Peter, Day 2

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Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,  according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

- 1 Peter 1:1-5, ESV

Somehow, the NFL has managed to turn its player draft into a national entertainment spectacle. Cities now compete to host the draft like they're hosting the Super Bowl. It's kind of crazy, but it raises a good question for us as we're considering Peter's opening to his brilliant first epistle: Why do NFL teams draft players? We can look at this on two levels - what they like about a player and what they hope a player can do for their team. They may like a player's speed or size of toughness or football IQ, but they are also hoping a player can do something specific for their team: protect the quarterback, stop the run, catch long passes, stop the other teams from completing long passes, etc.

What does this have to do with 1 Peter? Well, last time, we saw that Peter tells us we are elect exiles. In other words, we are chosen by God, even as we live in a world that's not our home. We also saw why God chooses us: Because He loved us before He made us. That's foreknowledge. But what was God's purpose in choosing us? What are we chosen for?

Peter unpacks the purpose for our election in verses 2-5. The short answer is found toward the end of verse 5: "for salvation." But what exactly is salvation? What does it involve? Here. Peter names seven vital things included in our salvation:

1. The Sanctification of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit has set us apart from being ordinary people, mere flesh and blood, sinful and under condemnation, and has made us holy, made us His special people.

2. Obedience to Jesus Christ: By God's grace, our hearts are changed and we are now willing and able to obey Jesus Christ as our Lord.

3. Sprinkling with His Blood: We are forgiven by the cleansing of Jesus' blood, shed for us. We are washed clean, given a clean conscience and pure record in the eyes of God. 

4. Grace and Peace: These are really two things, but they very commonly occur together in Scripture and they go together. God gives us His undeserved favor and kindness, including peace with Him, with one another in the body of Christ, and within ourselves.

5. Born Again to a Living Hope: God's great mercy has caused us to be made spiritually alive, to be born again, or born from above. To be spiritually alive is to have a strong, living hope, for to be made spiritually alive by God's mercy is to never die again!

6. An Imperishable Inheritance: Not only will we live forever, but we will also inherit that which cannot perish, in God's eternal kingdom. Our inheritance in Christ and His kingdom is kept for us by the power of God where no one can ever disturb it.

7. Guarded through Faith: Not only is our inheritance guarded by God, but so are we. We are kept through faith - that is, as we keep trusting in Christ, we are kept in our salvation. God gives and keeps our faith, so we are secure in His hands.   

What a salvation! All of this salvation is received by faith now and is to be revealed openly on the Last Day, the great Day of the Lord, when Jesus returns. Until that time, we keep believing, hoping, waiting, and obeying!