NLT 1 Peter 1:1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people… who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2…May God give you more and more grace and peace…3… Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay…8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls… 10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you…12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
I’ve learned these first chapters of Bible are like pieces of a patchwork quilt for “God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners.” Chapters that are separate and often unique somehow fit together to become an image of Christ so “you love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”
Each of these chapters are pieces of a quilt meant to become a beautiful and useful part of your “priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” The author’s “messages were not for themselves, but for you” spoken by “those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven”
These first chapters are their God-given record of their relationship to God through Jesus. That record is their application; exactly what God intended His book should teach us. Application is where the power of the Bible lies. Our personal application is pieced together from each of these individual chapters God has given us to complete our transformation. “The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”
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