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Scripture Reading: 1 Pet. 1:10-12
1 Pet. 1:3-25 is concerned with the full salvation of the Triune God and its issues. Verses 3 through 9 cover the Father’s regeneration unto a living hope; verses 10 through 12, the Spirit’s application; and verses 13 through 25, Christ’s redemption. In this message we shall consider the Spirit’s application through the prophets’ prophesying and the apostles’ preaching.
According to Peter’s word in 1:10-12, the first means of the Spirit’s application was the prophesying of the Old Testament prophets, and the second means was the preaching of the New Testament apostles. By this we see that two groups of persons were used by the applying Spirit to apply God’s full salvation to His chosen people.
Once again we see that the scope of Peter’s writing is wide. Furthermore, all the contents included within this scope are rich and all-inclusive. Although Peter wrote only eight chapters, not much in comparison with Paul, he put into these chapters the divine riches. It may be that Peter’s skill in using the Greek language could not match that of Paul. However, I admire Peter’s boldness. Not caring for grammar, language, or composition, Peter found a way to express the divine riches in his writings.
When we first read 1:10-12, we may not think that these verses are very deep. But the more we read them and pray-read them and in so doing touch the depth of these verses, we shall realize that Peter’s word here is quite deep. One example of Peter’s depth is what he says in verse 11 about the prophets searching into the manner of time Christ would suffer.
First Peter 1:10 says, “Concerning which salvation the prophets, who prophesied concerning the grace unto you, sought out and searched out.” Here Peter uses the Old Testament prophets to confirm his teaching concerning the New Testament salvation. The Lord Jesus did the same thing (Luke 24:25-27, 44-46).
In verse 10 Peter points out that the prophets prophesied concerning “the grace unto you.” In this verse “grace” is a synonym for “salvation.” In 1:13 grace also refers to God’s salvation. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace. This grace is God in the Son as our enjoyment. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” The grace to which Paul refers three times in this verse is the resurrected Christ becoming the life-giving Spirit to bring the processed God in resurrection into us to be our life and life supply that we may live in resurrection. Therefore, grace is the Triune God becoming life and everything to us.
In 1:11 Peter goes on to say, referring to the prophets, “Searching into what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them made clear, witnessing beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories after these.” The searching of the prophets was the Spirit’s preapplication of God’s salvation in the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophets were searching into what time and what manner of time the Spirit in them made clear concerning Christ’s marvelous accomplishment through His sufferings and glories. Eventually it was revealed that those marvelous things were ministered not to them, but to the New Testament believers (v. 12).
In verse 11 Peter says that the prophets searched not only into what time but also into what manner of time. Although it is easy to understand the meaning of “what time,” it is difficult to know what Peter means by “what manner of time.” This is an unusual expression. Does time have a manner? We may be bothered by this expression and wonder what Peter means by “what manner of time.”
In seeking to understand this, we may substitute “kind” for “manner” and speak of “what kind of time.” In conversation we sometimes refer to a certain kind of time, or ask a person what kind of time he had in doing a certain thing. You may ask someone, “What kind of time did you have with your father today? Did you have a good time with him? Did you enjoy a happy time?” Furthermore, the kind of time or manner of time may denote a particular season. For example, the winter season is a time of cold weather, whereas the summer season is a time of hot weather. These are illustrations that may help us understand Peter’s expression “what manner of time.”
Regarding the coming of Christ and His sufferings, the prophets not only searched into what time this would be, but also searched into what manner of time, what kind of time, it would be. A number of verses in the prophecy of the Old Testament indicate that the anointed One of God, the Messiah, Christ, would suffer for the salvation of God’s people and the fulfillment of God’s purpose. According to these prophecies, it was necessary for God’s anointed One, the One appointed to fulfill God’s commission, to suffer. The ancient prophets knew this, and they spent considerable time to find out when the Messiah would suffer. This means that they were seeking to know what time He would suffer. Furthermore, they were also searching into what manner of time this would be. Would it be in a time comparable to the winter season or one comparable to the summer? For this reason, in 1:11 Peter speaks concerning what manner of time.
We have seen that it is characteristic of Peter to use particular and even peculiar expressions in his writings. He speaks not only of the blood, but of the precious blood; not only of seed, but of incorruptible seed; not only of what time, but of what manner of time. Peter’s word in verse 11 is not drawn out of the air. On the contrary, what he says is based upon what he found in the Old Testament. Peter surely has a ground, a basis, for whatever he says. His word regarding what manner of time is based on the Old Testament.
Peter treasured the Old Testament, and we in the Lord’s recovery today certainly treasure the Bible. One striking characteristic of the Lord’s recovery is that we treasure the Word of God and spend a great deal of time reading it and studying it. Many of us have been dealing with the Bible diligently and seriously for years, especially during the years we have been in the recovery. Therefore, let me address a question especially to those who have been serious in their reading of the Bible: What verse in the Old Testament tells us the manner of time of Christ’s suffering and of His glorification? It is easy to find a verse that speaks of what time. For instance, Daniel 9:26 says, “After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off.” The words “cut off” point to Christ’s crucifixion. Daniel 9:25 mentions “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” Here we have a total of sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred eighty-three years. According to these verses, four hundred eighty-three years after the command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, the Messiah, Christ, would be cut off, crucified. By this we can know what time Christ would suffer. The time was at the expiration of the sixty-ninth week.
Although we have these verses related to what time Christ would suffer, it is very difficult to find a verse that tells us the manner of time. As I was writing the notes for the Recovery Version of 1 Peter, I was severely pressed by this word “manner” in verse 11. It was like a huge stone grinding me. It took a long time and a lot of labor for me to understand this verse. (We shall come to the verses on the manner of time in the next message.) Verses 10 through 12 are not shallow. Rather, they are deep and difficult to understand. Thus, we should never look down on Peter as a writer or think that he was shallow.
The salvation in verse 10 refers to the salvation of the soul mentioned in the preceding verse. The phrase “salvation of the soul” indicates a full salvation. It does not refer to initial salvation; it denotes consummate salvation, full salvation. Furthermore, as we have already pointed out, in verse 10 salvation and grace are synonyms. This means that grace here refers to God’s full salvation. Many Christians define grace merely as unmerited favor. How shallow is this explanation! The grace in the Bible is not limited to some kind of unmerited favor. The grace in the Bible is equal to full salvation.
In verse 10 Peter also tells us that the prophets sought out and searched out. In verse 11 he speaks of the prophets’ searching. All these words indicate seeking. If we read through the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi, we shall see that all the Old Testament saints were seekers. I believe that they were much more exercised in their seeking than we are today. The prophets in particular were seeking and searching into what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them made clear. Let us quote the first part of Peter’s word in verse 11 once again: “Searching into what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them made clear.” The composition here seems awkward. Nevertheless, Peter’s expression is marvelous and has been much used by God. What does this marvelous expression indicate? It indicates that while the prophets were searching, they had the Spirit of Christ in them.
You may be troubled by the phrase “the Spirit of Christ” in verse 11. When some read this verse, they may say to me, “Brother Lee, you have told us again and again that, according to John 7, the Spirit was not yet before Christ’s glorification. You have told us that prior to Christ’s glorification, the Spirit was only the Spirit of God with divinity and did not have the elements of humanity and of Christ’s death and resurrection. You have taught us that the Spirit of God had not yet been constituted of all these ingredients. But, Brother Lee, Peter speaks contrary to your teaching. He says that even in Old Testament times the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. What would you say about this?” I have even received letters asking me concerning these questions. In 1:11 Peter definitely says that while the ancient prophets were seeking and searching, the Spirit of Christ was in them. We need to consider this matter very carefully in order to understand it properly.
The highly respected Vaticanus manuscript omits “of Christ.” This omission fits in with the New Testament revelation concerning the Spirit. However, the other manuscripts of authority have “of Christ” in their text. In the New Testament revelation the Spirit of Christ denotes the Spirit after Christ’s resurrection (Rom. 8:9-11). Before His resurrection, the Spirit that is not only the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of Christ, was not yet (John 7:39). The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of God constituted through and of the death and resurrection of Christ for the application and impartation of Christ’s death and resurrection to His believers. Although the constitution of the Spirit of Christ is dispensational, constituted dispensationally through and of Christ’s death and resurrection in New Testament times, His function is eternal, because He is the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14). This can be compared to the cross of Christ: as an event, it was accomplished at the time of Christ’s death, yet its function is eternal. Hence, in the eternal sight of God, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). In the Old Testament time, to the prophets who were seeking out and searching out the sufferings and glories of Christ, the Spirit of God, as the Spirit of Christ, made the time and the manner of time concerning Christ’s death and resurrection clear.
Regarding the phrase “of Christ,” there is, as we have pointed out, some difference in the manuscripts. In translating the Bible, we need to study the manuscripts. Only when we have the proper manuscripts do we have the ground to make a translation. Whereas the Vaticanus manuscript does not have the phrase “of Christ,” other manuscripts do have it. It is right to go along with those manuscripts that include this phrase. The important matter for us to grasp is that the constituting of the Spirit of God to become the Spirit of Christ took place after the resurrection of Christ. This means that the constituting of the Spirit of Christ is dispensational. However, the function of the Spirit of Christ is eternal, for He is the eternal Spirit.
As we have already indicated, we can compare the constituting of the Spirit to the crucifixion of Christ. When was Christ crucified? According to the facts of history, Christ was crucified more than nineteen hundred years ago. But according to Revelation 13:8, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. This word in Revelation 13:8 is according to God’s view. In the sight of God, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. But according to the accomplishment in history, Christ was crucified somewhat more than nineteen hundred years ago. Regarding its accomplishment, the crucifixion of Christ took place in time more than nineteen hundred years ago. But regarding function, the effectiveness of Christ’s death is eternal, and in the sight of God, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. The principle is the same with the constituting of God’s Spirit to be the Spirit of Christ. The actual constituting took place after the resurrection of Christ. But the function of this Spirit is eternal.
Peter’s somewhat awkward composition helps us to see that as the prophets were searching, the Spirit of Christ was working in them. Likewise, if we come to the holy Word with a seeking heart, immediately the Spirit of Christ will also work in us. I can testify of this from my experience. Many times, while I was studying, searching, and even researching the Scriptures, the Spirit of Christ made matters clear to me. Because of the working of the Spirit of Christ in me, I could see things that were beyond my ability to see. Praise the Lord, as we are searching in the Word, the Spirit of Christ is operating within us!
