All posts tagged 1 Peter

Verses in this book used in these posts.

New Creation with God’s Life and Nature

In Christ we are a new creation. Outside of Him everything presently remains in God’s original creation, which became the old creation because of the fall of man which brought in sin and death.

The old creation is our old man in Adam (Eph. 4:22), our natural being by birth, without God’s life and the divine nature. The new creation is the new man in Christ (Eph. 4:24), our being that is regenerated by the Spirit (John 3:6), having God’s life and the divine nature wrought into it (John 3:36; 2 Pet. 1:4), having Christ as its constituent (Col. 3:10-11), and having become a new constitution. This refers to the nature, the inward and intrinsic organic constituent, of the church. Thus, the new creation is composed of sons; it is a corporate, divine sonship (3:26; 4:5, 7) brought forth through Christ’s redemption, the Spirit’s regeneration, and God’s dispensing of Himself into us, and through our entering collectively as this new man into an organic union with the Triune God.*

New JerusalemThank the Lord for our new beginning through redemption and regeneration and for our renewing by God’s life flow into us, His dispensing. We have “been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). This is our spirit being made alive, born, of the Spirit (John 3:6).

Gradually the Spirit in our spirit spreads through our being to make us wholly new. This is the path to New Jerusalem. When we are fully new, the Lord will then remove all the oldness around us and bring in the new creation and New Jerusalem will manifest His work in us.

* Part of footnote 1 on Galatians 6:15 in the Recovery Version Bible published and © by Living Stream Ministry. A New Testament of this Bible, with 9000 footnotes, is available in multiple languages for free from Bibles for America, Bibles for Canada, Bibles for Europe.

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by Don on May 10, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on May 10, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/05/10/new-creation-with-gods-life-and-nature/

Christ Jesus our Hope, our Coming Glory

The previous two posts focus on Colossians 1:27, Christ in us the hope of glory. This is the hope of our Lord’s glorious, public appearing (Titus 2:13) to reign over the earth, and our being brought into His glory (Heb. 2:10) and this glory being revealed in us (2 Thes. 1:10).

New JerusalemFirst Timothy 1:1 declares, “Christ Jesus our hope.” He is both the source of this hope and guarantee that this hope will be fulfilled. We do not yet see the glory but we hope for it “with endurance” (Rom. 8:24-25). We also “boast because of the hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2).

We do not hope with our own effort nor try to convince ourselves that the hoped for glory will really happen. Rather, this hope is Christ and He is within us. This is “the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7; 1:2). This is “a living hope” unto which we have been regenerated through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).

We can thank and praise our Lord for this hope of glory. It is good for at least some of our praising to be aloud, not merely in our thinking. The more we do this, the more we turn from our doubts unto Him as the reality of our hope. Christ in us, the hope of glory!

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by Don on April 17, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on April 17, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/04/17/christ-jesus-our-hope-our-coming-glory/

Life and Building unto New Jerusalem

New JerusalemLife and building are two key aspects in the Bible for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. God desires to impart His life into man and thereby to build many men together into His corporate expression. This expression of God has which has New Jerusalem as the consummation.

Life and building are together in Ephesians 4:16; this verse presents a supply from the Head, Christ, through all His members which “causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” Growth in life and building are together.

Life and building are also seen in 1 Peter 2. In verse 2 we as Christian babes, born of “incorruptible seed” (1:23), should “long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation.” This is a life matter. 

Then verses 4-5 present Christ as the living Stone and all of us as living stones; as such we “are being built up as a spiritual house.” This is building.

The seed is for life-planting; the stone is for building (v. 5). As life to us, Christ is the seed [1:23]; for God’s building, He is the stone [2:4]. After receiving Him as the seed of life, we need to grow that we may experience Him as the stone living in us.*

Life and building is the path to New Jerusalem, a city built of precious materials with the river of water of life and the tree of life.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

* A part of footnote 1 on 1 Peter 2:4 in the Recovery Version Bible, © by Living Stream Ministry.

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by Don on March 22, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 22, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/life-and-building-unto-new-jerusalem/

No Levitical Service in New Jerusalem

In Exodus and Leviticus both the priestly service and the Levitical service were established. The first was for ministering directly to God, the second for practical support.

New JerusalemIn the New Testament a local church has both elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-7, 8-13). The elders oversee and guide the church; they also minister the Word of God (as do others who are not elders). The deacons help with practical service (e.g. Acts 6:1-3).

In New Jerusalem, everyone of God’s people will be priests, ministering directly to God and being directly supplied by Him. Revelation 22:3b says, “His slaves will serve Him.” The Greek word translated serve means to serve as a priest. In eternity there will be no need for practical service by Levites or deacons.

But don’t wait for New Jerusalem. Revelation 1:5-6 and 5:9-10 both say clearly that all who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb are a kingdom and “priests to our God.” We are all priests to worship God, sing and speak praises to Him, proclaim His worth and accomplishments, and release thanksgivings to Him.

First Peter 2:5 says we all (even babes in Christ, v. 2) “are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices.” Verse 9 adds that we are a royal priesthood to “tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

The priesthood today is our foretaste of and our preparation for New Jerusalem. Let’s all participate!

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by Don on February 16, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on February 16, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/02/16/no-levitical-service-in-new-jerusalem/

New Jerusalem: God’s Eternal Living House

New Jerusalem

In Peter 2:4-5  is the forerunner of New Jerusalem. “Coming to Him, a living Stone…you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.”

Jesus Christ is the living Stone. When we believed into Him, He came into us to become our life (Col. 3:4). By His indwelling, He is making us living stones and building us together to form God’s spiritual house.

This living house grows to New Jerusalem. The divine, eternal life is the essence of God’s house now; He will not have a downturn to a physical city in eternity.

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by Don on January 29, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 29, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/01/29/new-jerusalem-gods-eternal-living-house/

New Jerusalem is a Spiritual City

New Jerusalem

 

First Peter 2:2-5 – “Long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation….Coming to Him, a living stone…you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.”

We are nourished spiritually to grow spiritually and thereby are built up as a spiritual house, which develops to become New Jerusalem, a spiritual city.

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by Don on January 8, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 8, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/new-jerusalem-is-a-spiritual-city/

The Trinity Prepares us for New Jerusalem (2)

New Jerusalem[In Ephesians 4:4-6] we see the Spirit, the Lord, and the Father. This, of course, refers to the Divine Trinity…We need to ask why Paul begins with the Spirit, goes on to the Lord, and ends with the Father. This is because Paul is touching a subjective matter, and in our experiences the Spirit is the Triune God reaching us. When the Trinity reaches us, He is the Spirit; therefore, Paul begins with the Spirit as the reaching aspect of the Divine Trinity. When we have the Spirit, we also have the Lord because the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17).*

The Spirit first reaches us to bring us to repentance that we may receive the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2). The Spirit then regenerates us, imparting divine life into our human spirit (John 3:5-6). Then through the course of our Christian life the Spirit does many things in us—guiding us into the reality (John 16:13), bearing witness in us (Rom. 8:16), bountifully supplying us (Phil. 1:19), renewing us (Titus 3:5), transforming us (2 Cor. 3:18), and much more.

All of the Spirit’s operation in us imparts the reality of New Jerusalem, bringing us onward to this glorious city. In New Jerusalem the Spirit will continue to reach us as the river of water of life, bringing Christ as the tree of life.

* From chapter 41, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986

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by Don on September 11, 2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on September 11, 2023

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2023/09/11/the-trinity-prepares-us-for-new-jerusalem-2/

The Triune God is our Entrance (2)

First Peter 1:2 tells us that we were “Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”

The foreknowledge of God the Father was exercised in eternity past. The span of this entrance began from eternity past. Then in time the Spirit came to sanctify us, and the Spirit’s sanctification is based upon the Father’s choosing. The Spirit came to us based upon the Father’s selection of us. Our obedience unto faith in Christ resulted from the Spirit’s sanctifying work….Again, we see that God is triune in one entrance to bring us into God, into God’s interest, into the kingdom of God, and into the economy of God, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The Bible reveals that the Triune God is our triune entrance.

New JerusalemThe entrance to New Jerusalem is available to everyone. Jesus commanded His disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation” (Mark 16:15).

The gospel invites all people to believe into Jesus Christ and to receive salvation. In this way people come into the Triune God, into the Father’s house, and into New Jerusalem. This is invitation to all people is seen in the three gates on each of the four sides of New Jerusalem.

The gates are available to people in all directions. Hence in Luke 13:29 Jesus tells us that people “will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” These four directions match the four directions of the gates of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:13.

* From chapter 35, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

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by Don on March 6, 2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 6, 2023

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2023/03/06/the-triune-god-is-our-entrance-2/

Grow unto Salvation for New Jerusalem

As presented earlier, New Jerusalem is composed of gold (Rev. 21:18, 21), pearl (v. 21), and precious stones (v. 11, 18-20). These three materials are spiritual signs signifying the Triune God as the essence of the city.

New JerusalemFirst, we have the golden nature as a gift from God the Father; second, we are enjoying the secreting work of Christ to make us pearls; and third, we are experiencing the transforming work of God the Spirit to make us precious stones.…God the Spirit [uses] the secreted life to transform our entire being from a piece of rock to a jasper stone, which is good for the building of God’s eternal dwelling place. This dwelling place has been initiated today in the church life, and we are proceeding toward the ultimate consummation, the New Jerusalem.*

All the God-created lives—plants, fish, birds, animals, and humans—have a growth process. This aspect of creation depicts the divine life, the life that is God in Christ. God Himself is perfect and does not grow, but His life born into us can and does grow.

First Peter 1:23 speaks of our regeneration by the living word of God. A few verses later we are encouraged, as newborn babies, to drink the milk of God’s word that we may grow unto salvation.

The latter part of Hebrews 5 contrasts milk and solid food and distinguishes between babies and full-grown believers. It also ties exercise to growth.

To grow unto the fullness of salvation, we need both nourishment and exercise. The goal of this growth is maturity, and our corporate maturity is New Jerusalem.

* From chapter 34, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

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by Don on February 22, 2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on February 22, 2023

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2023/02/22/grow-unto-salvation-for-new-jerusalem/

The Triune God is the Substance of New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:18b, “the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”
Revelation 21:21a, “the twelve gates were twelve pearls.”
Revelation 21:11, “Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone.”

In all three sections concerning God’s eternal building, the materials are always three in number and are in a unique sequence—gold, pearls, and precious stones. These materials are three in number because the actual material for God’s building is the processed Triune God—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. God would never use anything other than Himself in His processed Trinity to build up His dwelling place.*

New JerusalemColossians 2:19 speaks of the Triune God building up the Body of Christ with Himself: “the Head [Christ], out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.” God in Himself cannot grow; He is perfect, having no need to grow. But He surely needs to grow, to spread, in all His regenerated people.

First Peter clearly presents this need of growth. We have been regenerated “through the living and abiding word of God” (1:23). Then, “As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation” (2:2) Our initial salvation is secure forever but we need to progress into the saving experiences of growth and building up.

“Coming to Him, a living stone…you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood” (2:4-5). This built up priesthood culminates in New Jerusalem where we all will serve God as priests” (Rev. 22:3).

* From chapter 29, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

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by Don on January 6, 2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 6, 2023

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2023/01/06/the-triune-god-is-the-substance-of-new-jerusalem/

Redemption is for Life, Life is for New Jerusalem

New Jerusalem is built with gold, pearls, and precious stones. These three materials are seen in Genesis 2, 1 Corinthians 3, and Revelation 21, but there is a change in the second.

New JerusalemIn type in Genesis, in the actual building in 1 Corinthians, and in the fulfillment in Revelation, there are only three categories of materials for God’s building….We see bdellium in Genesis, silver in 1 Corinthians, and pearls in Revelation. Bdellium is not something of the animal life but something of the plant life. In the Bible the animal life with the blood is for redemption. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:22)….Bdellium is out of the plant life in Genesis 2, and pearl is out of the oyster, the animal life, in Revelation 21. This is because in Genesis 2 sin had not yet come in. The producing of bdellium out of the plant life means that at that time there was no need of redemption.*

Without sin, Genesis 2 has bdellium from the plant life, but because of sin and our need for redemption, 1 Corinthians has silver and Revelation 21 has pearl.

Thank the Lord for His redemptive death! “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). And, “through His name everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43).

The redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus is for us to be forgiven and cleansed, and those steps are so that we may receive eternal life. And eternal life grows in us to make us proper members of New Jerusalem. And eternally in New Jerusalem the river of life with the tree of life flows out of the throne on which the redeeming Lamb sits.

* From chapter 29, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The text of this Bible is at text.recoveryversion.bible; this too is © by LSM.

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by Don on January 2, 2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 2, 2023

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2023/01/02/redemption-is-for-life-life-is-for-new-jerusalem/

We Become Precious Stones for New Jerusalem

New JerusalemNew Jerusalem is built with gold, pearls, and precious stones. These are spiritual signs which represent the Father’s divine nature, Christ’s death and resurrection, and the Spirit’s transformation. The first two are for us to receive; transformation is carried out by the Spirit within us throughout our Christian life based on our cooperation (2 Cor. 3:16-18; Rom. 12:1-2).

The name Peter means stone (the name has the same root as the English word petrify). John 1:42 records that Jesus said to him, “you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter).”

“In his first Epistle Peter tells us that the Lord is the living stone and that we all need to come to Him as living stones for God’s building of His habitation (2:4-5; Eph. 2:22). All of us believers, including Peter, are the living stones for God’s building. After he experienced Christ in His resurrection and ascension, Peter declared that he was one of the precious stones for the building up of a spiritual house. John 1, 1 Peter 2, and Revelation 21 all refer to Peter. He was predicted to be a stone in John 1, he became a stone in 1 Peter 2, and he is a foundation stone in the New Jerusalem.*

Like Peter, all who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior have been regenerated and are being transformed. This transformation is part of the preparation of New Jerusalem. The whole city has the appearance of a precious stone, as declared in Revelation 21:11, “Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.”

* From chapter 29, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

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by Don on December 30, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on December 30, 2022

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2022/12/30/we-become-precious-stones-for-new-jerusalem/

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