Take Comfort In Your Savior’s Ordination

So our sermon passage today is going to be 1 Peter chapter 1, mostly focused on verses 20 and 21.

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

! But I like to read the broader passage because it's just glorious. It's wonderful.

So I read this trusting it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word.

Let me read the verses 20 and 21 first so you can get the focus.

He, indeed, Jesus Christ, was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in God,

who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.

This will be our focus for today, but hear this glorious passage. Let's start at verse 1 through 21.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy,

has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,

though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

whom, having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully,

who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,

searching what or in what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, who was in them,

was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us,

they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you,

through those who have preached the gospel to you,

by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven,

things into which angels desire to look into.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,

be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace

that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts,

as in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy,

you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written,

Be holy, for I am holy.

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work,

conduct yourselves through the time of your stay here in fear,

knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold

from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

but with the precious blood of Christ,

as a lamb without blemish or spot,

he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world,

but was manifest in these last times for you,

who through him believe in God,

who raised him from the dead and gave him glory

so that your faith and hope are in God.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

Lord, our minds are so limited.

We confess that you are the incomprehensible,

eternal, triune God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we worship

because you have manifested yourself through Jesus Christ.

Lord, we pray that by your spirit,

you will manifest yourself in Jesus Christ once more today to your people.

In power we ask, Lord, for your glory.

Amen.

There's only so much that we can care about.

Isn't that true?

You start to feel saturated,

and at some point it's just,

I can't care about that football team or this other thing

because there's only so much we as human beings can care about.

So if that's true,

and this is the time where it's the end of a year,

we're hearing like the best of 2025,

everybody's trying to evaluate this past year.

My encouragement to myself and maybe to you is this.

Life is too short for us to take our cues from the world

on what we should care about.

Best-selling books,

most-watched video links,

most-read blog posts.

Ultimately, we're listening to the world,

and the heart is deceitful above all things

and desperately wicked.

So to an extent,

who cares, right?

Who cares what people were watching or reading in 2025?

As fallen humans,

we'll always find voices

that will tickle our fallen, twisted, itching ears.

That's not where we want to take the cues from

on what we care about.

Let's consider a better perspective

about what you and I should care about.

Consider the perspective

of those heavenly beings that are immortal,

created by God.

I'm talking about angels.

These angels got to watch God

form the world with His voice.

They got to watch God destroy

that version of earth with the flood.

And they've observed our species

over every generation.

Can we take our cues from the angels

about what we should care about

and pay attention to?

Think about angels' minds.

They're not restricted

like our human minds are.

We are part of fallen flesh

and we're human beings.

So I imagine those angels,

if they even do this,

but I imagine if they were to listen

to what the latest tech genius

of 2025 has to say,

and they're spirits,

they don't have bodies

and they're tireless,

so they wouldn't actually do this.

But if they could,

they would yawn.

Angels could care less about that.

Think about the other things

that make the headlines.

You know, fighting over economics

or geopolitics.

It's like a boring rerun

from previous centuries.

But if you look at the angels'

response to what God does

in redemptive history,

this is where we get a glimpse

and the angels are singing

about the birth of Jesus.

And look at our passage today.

Look at verse 10.

The Old Testament prophets,

inspired by the Spirit of Christ,

they foretold something magnificent.

It was the suffering

and the glory of God the Son

in the flesh.

That's what got the attention

of the angels.

God revealed that His gospel

was being foretold

through the Scriptures

for our benefit

in these last times.

The church,

those of us who have Scripture,

what is it that captures

the attention of the angels?

It's the life and work

of Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 12.

This is what angels

desire to look into.

So for the month of December,

with God's help,

and if He'll allow us,

our focus will be to do just that.

To gaze at the person

of Jesus Christ.

The theme of this series

is the only mediator.

And our focus for today

is very narrow

on the person of Jesus.

For today,

I encourage you to take comfort

in your Savior's ordination.

Take comfort

in your Savior's ordination.

Look at verse 20

one more time.

1 Peter chapter 1, verse 20.

1 Peter 1:20

For He indeed,

Jesus Christ,

was foreknown

or foreordained

before the foundation

of the world.

That's our encouragement today.

We'll ask three questions

to try to appreciate

this glorious revelation

that God has given.

The first one is,

when?

When did God do this?

The second one is,

why?

Why did God do this?

And then finally,

for whom?

When, why, and for whom?

Let's begin with the first one.

When was Jesus Christ

ordained for His ministry

as our mediator

and Savior.

We're told that He was

foreordained in verse 20

before the foundation

of the world.

Peter uses this word

that you can break down

the roots in the prefix

to it would be pre-known.

Jesus Christ was pre-known

of God

before the foundation

of the world.

To know someone

in this sense

is to know them

as a person,

is to know them

in relation.

So the person

of Jesus Christ

was foreknown,

foreordained

in His office

by the triune God

before the foundation

of the world.

See, it's way more

than a mere prediction

of what God would do.

It's a prescription.

It means that

God has predetermined,

He has appointed Christ

beforehand.

We just read,

in the unity

of our triune God,

Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit,

our infinitely holy God,

triune Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit,

in His infinite wisdom

decreed that God the Son

would take on

to Himself

a body

in order to unite

a people to God.

What a glorious truth.

Thomas Watson commented,

God's counsel

is the cause

of all things.

The thoughts of a man

may be frustrated,

but the counsel of God

cannot.

He does not consult

with us.

God consults

with Himself.

This illustration

was helpful to me.

Maybe it would be

to you as well.

We see some of these

massive trees out here,

you know,

cottonwood trees,

or picture like

a massive oak

40 feet up into the air.

Before that tree

got to be so tall

and magnificent,

it started as

a small little acorn

or a seed.

The entire genetic code

of this magnificent tree,

its height,

the leaf shape,

the strength,

it's already written

into that tiny acorn.

The tree was foreordained

inside the seed,

you could say,

before it ever

breaks the soil.

Similarly,

the tree of our salvation,

the wonderful decree of God,

the plan of our salvation

by the cross

and the resurrection

of Jesus,

were in the mind of God

before creation itself

even began.

God chose Jesus Christ

to reveal His glory.

There's an old hymn

and it has this line

that Christ,

be my first elect,

God said,

then chose our souls

in Christ our head

before He gave

the mountains birth

or laid foundations

for the earth.

Brothers and sisters,

how in you can I,

how could we be cold

towards such a wise God?

Think about how

God's love to save us

has burned hotter

than the sun

since before God

even created the sun.

God has never had

a cold moment

toward you

in eternity.

This is an ancient love

found in God Himself,

His very essence.

Let His love for us

in ordaining Christ

for this work

be a great comfort.

Our confession of faith

affirms this.

God was pleased

in His eternal purpose

to choose

and ordain

the Lord Jesus,

His only begotten Son,

to be the mediator

between God

and man.

Ephesians 1, 4, and 5

says that God

chose us

in Jesus Christ

before the foundation

of the world

that we should be holy

and without blame

before Him.

In love He predestined us

for adoption

in His beloved

Jesus Christ.

The enemy wants

to accuse you and me

and one of the fears

that can creep up

in our minds

is that

when I sin

this is a surprise

to God

or that

my sin is too terrible

or too recent

for God to forgive.

Let's look

at Christ.

Remember how God

foreordained Christ

for you and me.

The remedy

for our sin

was prepared

before the world

even began.

God's grace

is eternal

for His people.

You and I

can't out-sin

God's decree

that predates

our own existence.

Revelation 13, 8

says that

Jesus Christ

is the Lamb

slain

from the foundation

of the world.

This is such great news.

It reveals to us

that the glorious truth

that our God

our Creator

our Savior

He is not reactionary.

The plan of salvation

is older

than the problem

of sin.

God didn't

discover

that you and I

are sinners

and we're lost

and then scrambled

to find a Savior.

That would contradict

what our passage

says very clearly today.

God appointed

Jesus Christ

as Savior

first.

He knew

that you and I

would be lost

and that would be

a great display

of His grace

to us

in Jesus Christ.

As someone put it,

before the first

star was kindled

or the first

mountain was raised,

the Father

had already

identified

His Son

as the Lamb.

Let this expand

our minds.

We receive the gospel

with a childlike faith

and yet our salvation

is not a fragile thing

held together

by our own

understanding even.

Certainly not

our daily performance.

It is anchored

in the bedrock

of God Himself

from all eternity.

Our salvation,

the eternal destiny

of our souls

was designed

by God.

He's the architect

of it all

from beginning

to end.

This is when

Jesus Christ

was ordained.

It's before

the foundation

of the world.

Second question,

why was Jesus

ordained?

Would you look

at verse 9?

we're told

that Jesus

was ordained

for the salvation

of our souls,

for the salvation

of His people.

This is the purpose

for which

He came

as God's servant.

Ordination

implies

an ordainer

and a person

being ordained.

And so this

points us

to the agreement

between

Father,

Son,

sealed by

the Holy Spirit.

Throughout church

history it's been

called the covenant

of redemption.

God's eternal decree

to make peace

with man

through Jesus,

God the Son,

who would become

the servant.

In Isaiah 42,

1,

we're given

a beautiful insight

into the why

behind our salvation.

It reads,

Behold,

from God's perspective,

my servant

whom I uphold,

my elect one

in whom

my soul

delights.

See,

God the Father

delights

in His Son

who will serve

as the servant,

the one to accomplish

this plan

of salvation.

God was

pleased

to save

through Jesus Christ

and Jesus was

pleased

to become

a servant

of God.

The Father

looked upon

the Son

and delighted

to appoint Him

as the captain

of our salvation.

salvation.

So the why

Jesus was ordained,

it was motivated

by God's pure,

unsurpressible,

overflowing,

divine love.

The very essence

of who God is.

God delights

in your salvation.

God is not stingy

with His mercy.

He is bound

by His own delight

and promised

to provide salvation

for all who will

come to Christ.

He wants to save you

more than you want

to be saved.

Take joy in the fact

that saving you

and saving me

was not a chore

for God.

It was His eternal

delight

in His Son.

It's God's pleasure

to save.

The beautiful thing

we see in this passage

is that God's

overflowing love

and joy

and delight,

He shares it

with His people.

It becomes our own.

The love of God

the Father

for God the Son

overflows

by God the Spirit

onto those

who God saves.

Look at 1 Peter

1 Peter 1:8

chapter 1

verses 8 and 9.

At the revelation

of Jesus Christ

whom,

having not seen,

so by faith

you love.

That's a work

that only the Spirit

can do.

Though now

you do not see Him

yet believing,

you rejoice

with joy

inexpressible

and full

of glory.

You know this joy

that God's promise

is true.

You truly

are saved

in Jesus Christ.

Watson pointed out,

Christ took

our flesh

upon Him

that He might

take our sins

upon Him.

That's why He did it.

The hymn captures

this as well.

Oh, the sweet

wonders of that cross

where God the Savior

loved and died.

Her noblest life

my spirit

draws

from His

dear wounds

and bleeding side.

God the Son

and our second

London Confession

chapter 8

paragraph 1

encourages us,

God was pleased

according to the

covenant made

between the

triune God

to set Christ

forth for us

as our mediator.

See, there's only

one possible

mediator between

God and man

and this is the

mediator that you

and I most need.

It's God the Son

Himself.

Why did God

send His Son

to save us?

Because of His

overflowing mercy.

Because He is

love.

In Revelation,

we get this glorious

picture of living

waters

flowing from

God and the Lamb,

flowing from

this gospel

revealed through

Jesus Christ.

And here in

Colorado,

if we drive to

the mountains

this time of year,

some of the

waterfalls are

starting to freeze

and they look

beautiful.

You can still

see some snow

melting as we

have those warm

days and it's

rushing down.

It can get to

the bottom of a

mountain and it

can be a mighty

white water rapids.

And those rivers

begin in a hidden

spring usually high

up in the mountains

where we can't even

see it or find

the source.

This is like the

eternal covenant

between Father,

Son,

and Spirit.

And the river

down below is the

visible result.

But the pressure

and the life

and the source

are high above,

unseen by those

of us down here

in the valley.

The water of life

flows to us

only because

of the love

between Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit

covenanting

to save a people

through Jesus Christ,

the mediator,

in the heights

of heaven.

we look around

us and we know

this in our own

lives that many

are dying of

spiritual thirst.

And if we step

one half step

back away from

Christ,

from the source,

we feel that

spiritual thirst

and we need to

plunge back in,

don't we?

God's love flows

through the abundance

of the blood of

Jesus.

There's no limit.

It's more precious

than anything in

this world.

It's the precious

blood of the Lamb

that was slain

before the foundation

of the world.

It will never run out.

Jesus Christ

has been lifted up

and He's offered

freely.

Come and drink.

Don't let the enemy

trick us again.

The greatest

possible pleasures

for those of us

that God made

in His image

can only be found

in God's will.

Think of this thought.

we're told here

it's the delight

of God

to set forth Jesus.

Jesus is His beloved

in whom we are chosen.

If the Father

delights in the Son

that much,

you and I

can only

experience such joy

if we delight

in the Son

also.

This is God's will.

Delight in His Son.

There's no other

source of happiness.

forgiveness.

This is the why

Christ was ordained.

The third question,

which sinners

was Jesus Christ

foreordained

to save?

Which sinners

was Jesus Christ

foreordained

to save?

We get this

in our whole passage,

but let's begin

by looking at

verse 20.

We're told that

Jesus was manifest

in these last times

for you.

keep reading

into verse 21.

For you

who through Him

believed in God.

Which sinners

is Christ

ordained to save?

Those who believe

in Jesus.

He is manifest.

The Spirit

reveals Him

to you and me

who behold Him

by faith

and receive Christ

as God

has freely given Him.

And through Jesus

we believe

in this glorious

gospel

of God.

Isn't God

so kind?

See,

His secret

counsel

between Father,

Son,

and Spirit

did not stay

secret.

Peter says

in verse 20,

God was

pleased to manifest

Jesus.

To manifest

means to make

visible.

Our Lord Jesus

made Himself

not only visible

but touchable.

Put your hands,

put your fingers

in my hands

and the wounds.

His disciples

eyewitnesses

like Peter

could behold

Him bleeding

in His body

on the cross.

God the Son

truly took on

a body.

He truly

was incarnate.

Spurgeon

pointed out,

He that made

man

was made

man.

in the

Athanasian

creed

that we

just read.

It was

in God

and Trinity

and the

Trinity

and unity.

That's who

we worship.

And this is

possible because

Jesus manifested

the Trinity,

the full light

of God's glory.

a wonderful

analogy for us

is the sun.

We're part

of the solar

system so as

the earth

rotates around

the sun

we experience

life under

the sun.

And at

sunrise

something very

special happens.

See,

all night long

the sun was

there and

never went

away.

But in our

part of the

world it's

dark.

The sun

is real

and it's

burning with

immense heat

and light

just as God

is real.

And God

exists in

power and

glory and

burning light.

But over

the night

time on

this earth

the sun

is hidden

from our

side.

And then

at dawn

that sun

that was

there all

along

becomes

manifest.

The rays

reach us.

We can

feel the

warmth

and we can

start to

see again.

That's what

Jesus Christ

coming in

the flesh

did.

He is

the light

of God

breaking

over the

horizon

to warm

the earth.

And Christ

is God

triune God

eternal

sun.

And his

incarnation

was the

sunrise

that brought

the light

of the

eternal

triune

creator

into the

darkness

of world

history.

God

could have

done this

in a lot

of ways.

Think about

how to

behold

God

completely

unveiled

would kill

us.

We

physically

could not

handle

seeing God

in a

display of

his glory.

Those who

got a

glimpse

even of

an angel

would fall

on their

faces

and tremble

in fear.

A.W.

Tozer

commented

this about

the

incarnation.

the

awful

majesty

of the

Godhead

was

mercifully

sheathed

like you

would put

a sword

in a

leather

pouch

in the

soft

envelope

of human

nature

to protect

mankind.

That's

who Jesus

Christ is

as our

mediator.

The

evidence

of God's

magnificence

is Christ.

put before

us.

If you

continue to

say I

don't see

my need

for Christ.

If you're

unwilling to

close your

eyes to

this world

and let the

spirit open

your eyes

by faith

to Christ

to see

the sunrise

that he

has brought

that's to

ignore the

manifest one.

The one

that God

has put

forward and

said look

at him.

and that's

to embrace

darkness

forever.

So which

sinners was

Jesus Christ

foreordained

to save?

The target

audience in

verse 20

is for

you.

He was

foreordained

for you

who believe.

See this

church now

we look

back at

verse 2.

it's a

circular

letter given

to these

churches in

Pontus,

Galatia,

Cappadocia,

Asia,

Bithynia.

In other

words real

places,

real locations,

local congregations

like this one.

And in

verse 2 he

calls people

in those

churches

elect

according to

the foreknowledge

of God

and

God

if you

have

received

Christ

manifest

it's

because you

are

elect

according to

the foreknowledge

of God

the Father.

It's

because the

spirit has

set you

apart

has

sanctified

you

and is

in the

process

of

sanctifying

you.

And it's

for obedience

and sprinkling

in the

precious blood

of Jesus

Christ.

The second

London

confession

of faith

also says

from all

eternity

God gave

the Son

a people

to be

his

offspring

and in

time

these

people

would be

redeemed.

That means

in a moment

in history

Christ

would accomplish

that salvation

that he had

promised long

ago.

And in

time

each of

these

souls

that God

elect

would be

called.

That means

the Holy

Spirit

will take

the work

of Christ

Christ

manifest

and

effectually

draw you

to see

Christ.

And each

of those

souls

will be

justified.

A moment

in time

you will

pass from

being

condemned

by sin

under the

law

to being

saved

righteous

united

to Christ

and you

will be

sanctified

and glorified

in him.

He knew

this from

the very

beginning

and he

will

see

it

through

all

the

way

to

glorification

and the

life

to

come

because

of

your

union

to

Jesus.

The

eternal

son

stepped

into

time

took

on

flesh

he

went

to

the

cross

for

the

sake

of

his

people

those

who

believe

in

him

by

faith

those

are

the

sinners

he

was

ordained

to

save.

In

1 Peter

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

if you

look at

verse

8

we're

encouraged

about

this

work

of

the

spirit

to

cause

us

to

believe

though

you

do

not

see

him

yet

believing

you

rejoice

and

in

verse

9

receiving

the

end

of

your

faith

the

salvation

of

your

souls

he

causes

us

to

believe

by

faith

and

he

saves

our

souls

fully

and

finally

through

Jesus

Christ

Spurgeon

commented

on

the

sinners

that

Christ

was

ordained

to

save

with

this

he

said

it

was

not

a

necessity

that

Jesus

should

save

any

he

saved

some

because

he

would

have

mercy

on

whom

he

would

have

mercy

Romans

9

15

it

was

his

own

free

will

that

moved

God

to

our

salvation

so

maybe

you're

thinking

again

today

is

Christ

really

for

me

am

I

one

that

he

has

manifested

himself

to

save

look

at

verse

1

I'm

sorry

chapter

1

verse

21

he

says

it's

for

you

who

through

Jesus

believe

in

God

the

answer

is

yes

if

you

look

to

Christ

you

are

the

you

in

this

verse

God

the

son

didn't

manifest

himself

to

condemn

you

Jesus

Christ

manifested

by

God

to

save

you

Athanasius

pointed out

that Christ

became

what we

are

that he

might

make

us

what

he

is

if

God

is

drawing

you

to

himself

making

you

more

and

more

little

by

little

imperfectly

for a

lifetime

to

love

him

to

be

more

like

Christ

this

is

the

very

purpose

for

which

he

came

be

encouraged

Jesus

was

manifested

for

sinners

like

you

and

me

he

now

manifests

himself

to

others

in

this

world

through

you

and

me

his

light

now

reflects

the glory

in his

people

and

sometimes

we

don't

even

know

it

you

could

be

having

a

horrible

week

you

can

be

beating

yourself

up

under

the

enemy's

accusations

and

you

have

had

this

happen

someone

will

just

tell

you

a

comment

there's

something

different

about

you

or

your

family

or

you

all

at

church

there's

something

different

about

the

way

you

are

and

we

have

to

say

it's

nothing

to

do

with

us

this

has

to

be

Christ

in

us

if

you

knew

who

I

am

for

myself

there

is

nothing

admirable

or

praiseworthy

but

by

God's

grace

this

is

our

lives

become

a

more

and

more

visible

display

of

his

invisible

grace

the

world

is

watching

us

let's

gaze

at

God's

love

in

Jesus

Christ

this

is

the

most

beautiful

sight

that

we

can

behold

let's

marvel

at

him

together

we

long

to

look

into

God

manifested

in

the

person

of

Jesus

Christ

like

the

angels

do

to

stare

at

him

with

the

eyes

of

faith

to

wonder

at

him

and

if

his

spirit

is

kind

even

to

weep

at

how

much

God

loves

you

and

me

not

because

of

who

we

are

but

despite

who

we

are

amen

he

was

manifest

in

these

last

times

for

you

take

comfort

in

your

savior's

ordination

Jesus

Christ

was

indeed

foreordained

before

the

foundation

of the

world

for

you

and

me

let's

thank

him

oh

lord

we

praise

you

for

the

gospel

that

you

have

revealed

through

jesus

christ

foretold

in all

of the

old

covenant

accomplished

by

jesus

christ

and

applied

to

us

by

your

holy

spirit

lord

we

pray

that

your

your

spirit

will

gently

kindly

comfort

encourage

strengthen

build up

sustain

your people

father

for christ's

sake

for your

glory

in us

and your

glory

in the

church

as you

manifest

yourself

to the

world

amen

do