Assignment Questions

1 Peter 1:3

1. Who shows mercy in this verse-the Father or the Son?

 

1. What is the result of the mercy expressed?

 

1. Define mercy, as distinct, for example, from justice.

 

1. What is the “living hope” to which one is born again? See verse 9.

 

1. What does “to be born again” mean? See—Acts of the Apostles, p. 520; M.B., p. 97, 91.

 

1. What is the function of the resurrection of Jesus in this verse—verse 3?

1 Pet 1:4, 5

1. What is the inheritance of verse 4, in the context of chapter 1?

 

1. What connection to verse 9 do you see here, if any?

 

1. Who are the protected in verse 5?

 

1. The inheritance, reserved in heaven, to be revealed in the last time, is “for you who are protected by the power of God through faith,” to the receiving of the heavenly reward.

   If one is protected by the power of God through faith does this mean faith is the medium through which God’s power is received?

 

1. If we are protected for an inheritance to be revealed in the “last time” when is the last time?

 

1. If the last time is to be understood as a reference to the time of Jesus’ second coming does this mean we are protected in death by the power of God as well as in life, if we die before Jesus comes the second time?

Assignment Answers

1 Peter 1:3

1. The Father.

 

1. People receive the new birth.

 

1. Justice gives us what we deserve; mercy does not give us what we deserve. It is an attribute God shows to defective human beings. The heavenly angels do not receive mercy; they are not defective.

 

1. The salvation of our soul (see v. 9), and an imperishable inheritance reserved in heaven, to be revealed “at the last time.”

 

1. To be reborn.

 

NOTE: The following from the Spirit of Prophecy is an example of Mrs. White’s comments. (In some of this material she is commenting on Peter’s letters.)

 

“As the Old Testament Scriptures are blended with the New in an explanation of Jehovah’s eternal purpose, this will be to many of the Jews as the dawn of a new creation, the resurrection of the soul. As they see the Christ of the gospel dispensation portrayed in the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, and perceive the New Testament explains the Old, their slumbering faculties will be aroused, …(

Acts of the Apostles

, p. 381).,

 

“The Word of God—the truth—is the channel through which the Lord manifests His Spirit and Power. …”When truth becomes an abiding principle in the life, the soul is ‘born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.’ This new birth is the result of receiving Christ as the Word of God. When by the Holy Spirit divine truths are impressed upon the heart, new conceptions are awakened, and the energies hither—to dormant are aroused to co-operate with God” (

Acts of the Apostles

, p. 520).

 

1. It causes us to be reborn—to a living hope.

1 Peter 1:4, 5

1. The reward we receive “at the last time” (v. 5).

 

1. The reward of verse 9 is now known; the reward of verses 4 and 5 is not revealed until “the last time,” though we are told it is reserved in heaven for those who are protected by the power of God through faith. The salvation of the soul, the outcome of faith (v. 9), is solidly linked to the future, yet unrevealed inheritance by Peter where he writes that the future inheritance is for those who are protected by the power of God through faith. Faith is the connecting link. Faith in verse 9 has as its outcome the salvation of your soul, while faith in v. 5 is the agent through which God’s protection comes to preserve those who if preserved, will receive the to-be-revealed inheritance.

 

1. Those who exercise faith.

 

1. Yes. See, for example, quotation #19 above.

 

1. It appears to be the times of Jesus’ second coming. After the coming of Jesus and the rewards then given and revealed, which usher in eternity, it would be inappropriate to speak of a last time, it seems.

 

In the Spirit of Prophecy materials the saints receive their reward progressively; beginning before the second coming and continuing through, of course, to their entry into the new earth. Notice the following as an illustration:

 

“With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested …. with fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God’s covenant and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness” (

The Great Controversy

, p. 635).

 

“Those who have sacrificed all for Christ are now secure, hidden as in the secret of the Lord’s pavilion” (

Great Controversy

, p. 638).

 

“A marvelous change has come over those who have held fast their integrity in the very face of death…Their faces, so lately pale, anxious, and haggard, are now aglow with wonder, faith, and love (

Great Controversy

, p. 639).

 

“From the prison house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, …all blemishes and deformities are left in the grave. … The last lingering traces of the curse of sin will be removed, and Christ’s faithful ones will appear in ‘the beauty of the Lord our God,’ in mind and soul and body reflecting the perfect image of their Lord. Oh, wonderful redemption. Long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager anticipation, but never fully understood” (

Great Controversy

, pp. 644, 645).

 

1. Yes. See for example quotations 27, 29, and 31 above. Notice also #33.

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