1 Peter 1:20
Verse
Context
Sermons
Peter Brandon
John Gill
G.W. North
Ernest O'Neill
Jack Hyles
Thomas ReadeSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Who verily was foreordained - Προεγνωσμενου· Foreknown; appointed in the Divine purpose to be sent into the world, because infinitely approved by the Divine justice. Before the foundation of the world - Before the law was given, or any sacrifice prescribed by it. Its whole sacrificial system was appointed in reference to this foreappointed Lamb, and consequently from him derived all its significance and virtue. The phrase καταβολη κοσμου, foundation of the world, occurs often in the New Testament, and is supposed by some learned men and good critics to signify the commencement of the Jewish state. Perhaps it may have this meaning in Mat 13:35; Luk 11:50; Eph 1:4; Heb 4:3; Heb 9:26. But if we take it here in its common signification, the creation of universal nature, then it shows that God, foreseeing the fall and ruin of man, appointed the remedy that was to cure the disease. It may here have a reference to the opinion of the Jewish doctors, who maintain that seven things existed before the creation of the world, one of which was the Messiah. Last times - The Gospel dispensation, called the last times, as we have often seen, because never to be succeeded by any other.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
God's eternal foreordination of Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and completion of it in these last times for us, are an additional obligation on us to our maintaining a holy walk, considering how great things have been thus done for us. Peter's language in the history corresponds with this here: an undesigned coincidence and mark of genuineness. Redemption was no afterthought, or remedy of an unforeseen evil, devised at the time of its arising. God's foreordaining of the Redeemer refutes the slander that, on the Christian theory, there is a period of four thousand years of nothing but an incensed God. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). manifest--in His incarnation in the fulness of the time. He existed from eternity before He was manifested. in these last times-- Co1 10:11, "the ends of the world." This last dispensation, made up of "times" marked by great changes, but still retaining a general unity, stretches from Christ's ascension to His coming to judgment.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Who verily was foreordained,.... Or "foreknown"; that is, by God; and which intends, not barely his prescience of Christ, of what he should be, do, and suffer; but such a previous knowledge of him, which is joined with love and affection to him; not merely as his own Son, and the express image of his person, but as Mediator; and whom he loved before the world was, and with a love of complacency and delight, and which will last for ever. It includes the choice of him as the head of the election, and the pre-ordination of his human nature, to the grace of union to his divine Person, and the pre-appointment of him to various things. The Syriac version adds, "to this"; that is, to be the lamb for a sacrifice, to be a propitiation for the sins of his people, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of them by his precious blood. The allusion is to the taking of the passover lamb from the sheep, or from the goats, and keeping it separate, from the tenth to the fourteenth day of the month, before it was slain; so Christ, as man, was chosen out from among the people; and as Joseph's antitype was separated from his brethren, and that before the foundation of the world; for all God's decrees and appointments, relating either to Christ, or his people, are eternal; no new thoughts, counsels, and resolutions, are taken up by him in time. The affair of redemption by Christ is no new thing; the scheme of it was drawn in eternity; the persons to be redeemed were fixed on; the Redeemer was appointed in the council and covenant of peace; and even the very Gospel which proclaims it was ordained before the world, for our glory. A Saviour was provided before sin was committed, and the method of man's recovery was settled before his ruin took place; and which was done without any regard to the works and merits of men, but is wholly owing to the free and sovereign grace of God, and to his everlasting love, both to the Redeemer and the redeemed. The Jews (h) reckon the name of the Messiah among the seven things that were created before the world was; in proof of which they mention, Psa 72:17 but was manifest in these last times for you; he was before, he existed from everlasting; he lay in the bosom of his Father from all eternity: and was veiled and hid under the shadows of the ceremonial law, during the legal dispensation; but in the fulness of time was manifest in the flesh, and more clearly revealed in the Gospel, and to the souls of men; his manifestation in human nature is principally intended, and which was in the last times of the legal dispensation, at the end of the Jewish world or state, when a new world, or the world to come, took place. It is a rule with the Jews (i), that whenever the last days or times are mentioned, the times of the Messiah are designed: and this manifestation of Christ was for the sake of some particular persons, even for all God's elect, whether among Jews or Gentiles, and who are described in the following verse. The Alexandrian copy reads, "for us"; and the Ethiopic version, "for him", (h) T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 59. 1. & Nedarim, fol. 89. 2. (i) Kimchi in Isa. ii. 2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:20 With Christ’s coming, Old Testament promises of redemption are being fulfilled and the last days have begun.
1 Peter 1:20
A Call to Holiness
19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.20He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Why Did Jesus Christ Die?
By Peter Brandon538:42The CrossRedemptionPSA 22:1ISA 53:5MAT 27:46LUK 23:42JHN 3:16ROM 6:231CO 1:182CO 5:21HEB 9:281PE 1:20Peter Brandon preaches on the profound significance of Christ's death, emphasizing that the crucifixion was not merely a martyrdom but a divine necessity foretold by prophets throughout history. He explores the dignity of the cross, the physical and spiritual suffering of Jesus, and the mystery behind His cry of abandonment, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' Brandon highlights that this moment was essential for the redemption of humanity, as Jesus bore the weight of sin and judgment on our behalf. Ultimately, he calls for personal acceptance of this truth, urging listeners to recognize that Christ died for their individual sins, offering forgiveness and salvation.
Novatianus
By John Gill0PredestinationThe Deity of ChristJHN 17:5ROM 8:30EPH 1:42TI 1:91PE 1:20John Gill discusses Novatianus, a presbyter of Rome, who, despite some controversies regarding his views on apostasy and church communion, is recognized for his orthodox beliefs and his esteemed work on the Trinity. Novatianus emphasizes the doctrine of predestination, arguing that a significant number of individuals were chosen for glory before the foundation of the world, and he defends the deity and eternal glory of Christ, asserting that Christ's glory is not merely a result of predestination but a reality that existed before time. This understanding of predestination highlights the divine order and the significance of Christ's position in relation to humanity and the angels.
As It Was in the Beginning
By G.W. North0RestorationBaptismGEN 1:2MAT 3:11MRK 1:4LUK 3:3JHN 1:1JHN 1:29ROM 6:4HEB 9:261PE 1:20REV 13:8G.W. North emphasizes that God's original intentions have never changed, and through the Gospel accounts, we see a return to the beginning, where Jesus is identified as the Lamb of God. Each Gospel writer traces the lineage of Christ back to significant points in history, with John connecting Jesus to the very beginning with God. The sermon highlights the mystery of creation and the foundational role of water, symbolizing baptism, in both the material and spiritual realms. John the Baptist's ministry is portrayed as a restoration to God's original design, focusing on baptism rather than the old sacrificial system. Ultimately, the message calls believers to recognize the eternal principles of the Lamb and baptism as central to God's purpose.
Of the Sin and Fall of Our First Parents.
By John Gill0SinFree WillGEN 2:17GEN 3:6LAM 3:37ACT 2:23ROM 5:122CO 11:31TI 2:13JAS 1:151PE 1:20REV 12:9John Gill preaches on the sin and fall of Adam and Eve, emphasizing how they transgressed God's command and fell from their original state of integrity into sin and misery. He explains that Eve was deceived by the serpent and, despite her initial innocence, succumbed to temptation, leading Adam to also sin by heeding her. Gill highlights that their fall was not caused by God or Satan directly, but rather by their own choices and desires, illustrating the nature of free will and the consequences of disobedience. He stresses that while God foreknew their sin, He did not compel them to sin, and that Adam's transgression has lasting implications for all humanity. The sermon serves as a reminder of the importance of obedience to God's word and the dangers of temptation.
Your Daily Work
By Ernest O'Neill0PSA 130:5PSA 139:13JHN 1:1ROM 6:6GAL 6:14EPH 1:3EPH 2:101PE 1:20Ernest O'Neill delves into the life of Socrates, highlighting his respect for God and drawing parallels between Socrates' creation by God and our own creation in Christ Jesus as stated in Ephesians 2:10. O'Neill connects the disorder in the world to our misuse of free will, emphasizing Christ's role in rectifying this disorder and bringing order through us. He explains that our daily work is an opportunity for Christ to express His order and redemption through us, turning mundane tasks into a means of bringing beauty and order into the world.
The Determinate Counsel
By Jack Hyles0PSA 139:16ISA 46:10JHN 3:16ACT 2:22ROM 8:29EPH 1:4HEB 4:3HEB 9:261PE 1:20Jack Hyles preaches about the Determinate Counsel, a divine meeting before the foundation of the world where God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit settled the plan for salvation. They determined that Jesus would come to Earth, live a sinless life, die on the cross, shed His blood, be buried, and rise again to pay the penalty for our sins. This plan was made out of love for humanity, ensuring that anyone who chooses to trust in Jesus can be saved. The Determinate Counsel also decided that salvation is solely by faith in Jesus, not by works, baptism, church membership, or sacraments.
On the Two Covenants
By Thomas Reade0EPH 1:4EPH 1:112TH 2:132TI 1:9TIT 3:51PE 1:21PE 1:20REV 13:8Thomas Reade preaches about the two covenants - the covenant of works proclaimed to Adam and the covenant of grace established by God before the world began. The covenant of grace, originating in God's everlasting love, was revealed to Adam after he broke the covenant of works, offering hope, pardon, and salvation through the promised 'seed of the woman,' Jesus Christ. Believers are called to reflect the character of the redeemed, chosen by God for holiness, salvation, and good works, walking in love and obedience to Christ. Reade emphasizes the importance of trusting in the immutable and everlasting covenant of grace, finding hope, peace, and joy in Jesus, the author of eternal salvation.
Lecture Three—trinitarianism or Theology Proper
By Greg Herrick0GEN 12:1EXO 3:142SA 7:12JER 31:31ACT 2:22EPH 1:11HEB 13:201PE 1:20Greg Herrick delves into Trinitarianism, exploring the study of the triune God, which includes rational arguments for God's existence, the attributes of God, the Names of God, the trinity, and the decree or plan of God. The sermon covers various arguments for God's existence such as the Argument from Creation, Design, Being, and Morality, as well as the Attributes of God and the significance of the Names of God in Scripture. Additionally, the sermon discusses the Trinity of God, highlighting erroneous conceptions and providing biblical evidence for the doctrine, and concludes with an examination of the Plan and Providence of God according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
1 Peter 1:20
By John Gill0Redemption through ChristForeknowledge of GodEPH 1:41PE 1:20John Gill expounds on 1 Peter 1:20, emphasizing that Christ was foreordained by God not just in prescience but with a deep, affectionate love as the Mediator. This foreknowledge includes the divine choice of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb, set apart before the foundation of the world for the redemption of His people. Gill highlights that God's plan for redemption was established eternally, independent of human actions, showcasing His sovereign grace and everlasting love. The manifestation of Christ in human form was a pivotal moment in history, intended for the elect, revealing God's eternal purpose in salvation.
Christmas as the End of History
By John Piper0GEN 12:2EXO 14:13JHN 6:32HEB 11:161PE 1:202PE 3:8John Piper preaches about Christmas as the end of history, emphasizing how God's work in history culminates in the coming of His eternal Son into the world. He discusses the rebellion of humanity against God's authority, the redemption of Israel as a lesson-book for all nations, and the fulfillment of God's promises through the lineage of kings leading to the Savior. Piper highlights the profound significance of Christmas as not just another event in history, but as the arrival of the end of history, symbolizing the Kingdom of God pressing back into the river of time to welcome believers into the age to come.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Who verily was foreordained - Προεγνωσμενου· Foreknown; appointed in the Divine purpose to be sent into the world, because infinitely approved by the Divine justice. Before the foundation of the world - Before the law was given, or any sacrifice prescribed by it. Its whole sacrificial system was appointed in reference to this foreappointed Lamb, and consequently from him derived all its significance and virtue. The phrase καταβολη κοσμου, foundation of the world, occurs often in the New Testament, and is supposed by some learned men and good critics to signify the commencement of the Jewish state. Perhaps it may have this meaning in Mat 13:35; Luk 11:50; Eph 1:4; Heb 4:3; Heb 9:26. But if we take it here in its common signification, the creation of universal nature, then it shows that God, foreseeing the fall and ruin of man, appointed the remedy that was to cure the disease. It may here have a reference to the opinion of the Jewish doctors, who maintain that seven things existed before the creation of the world, one of which was the Messiah. Last times - The Gospel dispensation, called the last times, as we have often seen, because never to be succeeded by any other.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
God's eternal foreordination of Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and completion of it in these last times for us, are an additional obligation on us to our maintaining a holy walk, considering how great things have been thus done for us. Peter's language in the history corresponds with this here: an undesigned coincidence and mark of genuineness. Redemption was no afterthought, or remedy of an unforeseen evil, devised at the time of its arising. God's foreordaining of the Redeemer refutes the slander that, on the Christian theory, there is a period of four thousand years of nothing but an incensed God. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). manifest--in His incarnation in the fulness of the time. He existed from eternity before He was manifested. in these last times-- Co1 10:11, "the ends of the world." This last dispensation, made up of "times" marked by great changes, but still retaining a general unity, stretches from Christ's ascension to His coming to judgment.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Who verily was foreordained,.... Or "foreknown"; that is, by God; and which intends, not barely his prescience of Christ, of what he should be, do, and suffer; but such a previous knowledge of him, which is joined with love and affection to him; not merely as his own Son, and the express image of his person, but as Mediator; and whom he loved before the world was, and with a love of complacency and delight, and which will last for ever. It includes the choice of him as the head of the election, and the pre-ordination of his human nature, to the grace of union to his divine Person, and the pre-appointment of him to various things. The Syriac version adds, "to this"; that is, to be the lamb for a sacrifice, to be a propitiation for the sins of his people, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of them by his precious blood. The allusion is to the taking of the passover lamb from the sheep, or from the goats, and keeping it separate, from the tenth to the fourteenth day of the month, before it was slain; so Christ, as man, was chosen out from among the people; and as Joseph's antitype was separated from his brethren, and that before the foundation of the world; for all God's decrees and appointments, relating either to Christ, or his people, are eternal; no new thoughts, counsels, and resolutions, are taken up by him in time. The affair of redemption by Christ is no new thing; the scheme of it was drawn in eternity; the persons to be redeemed were fixed on; the Redeemer was appointed in the council and covenant of peace; and even the very Gospel which proclaims it was ordained before the world, for our glory. A Saviour was provided before sin was committed, and the method of man's recovery was settled before his ruin took place; and which was done without any regard to the works and merits of men, but is wholly owing to the free and sovereign grace of God, and to his everlasting love, both to the Redeemer and the redeemed. The Jews (h) reckon the name of the Messiah among the seven things that were created before the world was; in proof of which they mention, Psa 72:17 but was manifest in these last times for you; he was before, he existed from everlasting; he lay in the bosom of his Father from all eternity: and was veiled and hid under the shadows of the ceremonial law, during the legal dispensation; but in the fulness of time was manifest in the flesh, and more clearly revealed in the Gospel, and to the souls of men; his manifestation in human nature is principally intended, and which was in the last times of the legal dispensation, at the end of the Jewish world or state, when a new world, or the world to come, took place. It is a rule with the Jews (i), that whenever the last days or times are mentioned, the times of the Messiah are designed: and this manifestation of Christ was for the sake of some particular persons, even for all God's elect, whether among Jews or Gentiles, and who are described in the following verse. The Alexandrian copy reads, "for us"; and the Ethiopic version, "for him", (h) T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 59. 1. & Nedarim, fol. 89. 2. (i) Kimchi in Isa. ii. 2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:20 With Christ’s coming, Old Testament promises of redemption are being fulfilled and the last days have begun.