Commentary - 1 Peter 1:10-12

Bird's-eye view

In this dense and glorious passage, the Apostle Peter pulls back the curtain on redemptive history to show his readers the immense privilege they have in possessing the gospel. He is writing to encourage suffering saints, and one of the primary ways he does this is by showing them the sheer value and weight of the salvation they possess. He does this by highlighting a threefold testimony to its greatness. First, the Old Testament prophets, who were the very conduits of God's revelation, diligently studied their own writings, longing to understand the salvation that was not for them but for a future generation. Second, the Holy Spirit, whom Peter calls the "Spirit of Christ," was the active agent in this prophetic work, testifying beforehand to the central theme of all Scripture: the suffering of the Messiah and the glories that would inevitably follow. Third, the holy angels, who dwell in the immediate presence of God's glory, are depicted as stooping down, craning their necks as it were, in fascinated desire to comprehend the mysteries of this salvation. The gospel we hold is the very thing the prophets strained to see, the Spirit orchestrated, and the angels marvel at.

Peter's point is to fortify the elect exiles by reminding them that their present trials are set within a grand, cosmic drama. The salvation they have received is no afterthought. It is the climax of millennia of prophetic utterance and the object of celestial wonder. Therefore, they ought to live in a manner worthy of such a great salvation, with minds girded for action and hearts set on the grace that is to be revealed at the coming of Jesus Christ. This is not a salvation to be trifled with; it is a salvation to be treasured, especially in the midst of fiery trials.

Outline

Context In 1 Peter

This passage immediately follows Peter's magnificent doxology concerning our living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:3-9). He has just reminded his readers that their faith, though tested by fire, will result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, in verses 10-12, he grounds that future hope in the solid bedrock of Old Testament prophecy and divine revelation. He is essentially saying, "This salvation that gives you such inexpressible joy is not some new thing; it is the ancient hope of Israel, the very subject that preoccupied the prophets of old." This section serves as a bridge between the celebration of our inheritance (vv. 3-9) and the call to holy living that follows (vv. 13ff). By establishing the profound, historical, and cosmic significance of the gospel, Peter provides a powerful motivation for the saints to take their calling seriously. If this is the salvation that prophets and angels longed to understand, how much more should we, who have received it, live in light of its reality?

Key Issues

The Gospel According to the Prophets

One of the foundational truths undergirding this passage is the absolute unity of the Bible. Peter sees no disjunction between the Old Testament and the New. The gospel the apostles preached was the very same gospel the prophets foretold. The Old Testament is not a collection of moral tales or the history of a defunct religion; it is the first volume of the story of redemption, and it is dripping with Christ. Peter tells us that the "Spirit of Christ" was at work in the prophets. This is a remarkable statement. It means that the same Holy Spirit who descended at Pentecost was the one inspiring Isaiah, Jeremiah, and David. And the central message He inspired them to deliver was a testimony about Christ. He was testifying to two great realities: the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. This is the pattern of the gospel. First the cross, then the crown. First the humiliation, then the exaltation. First the suffering, then the glory. This pattern, which was fulfilled in the life of our Lord, is also the pattern for the Christian life. We are called to share in His sufferings now, so that we may also share in His glory to come. The prophets understood this pattern, even if they did not understand all the details of its fulfillment.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries,

Peter begins by connecting back to the salvation he has just described, a salvation that is the source of a living hope and inexpressible joy. He then introduces the first set of witnesses to its grandeur: the Old Testament prophets. These were not dispassionate stenographers. They were men who were deeply engaged with the words God gave them. They prophesied about a future grace, a grace destined specifically for Peter's audience and for us. But having written these prophecies down, they did not simply file them away. They poured over them, making "careful searches and inquiries." They studied their own writings, trying to peer into the future that God had revealed through them. This tells us something crucial about the nature of inspiration. The prophets spoke and wrote more than they themselves fully understood. They were conduits of a divine message whose full import was beyond their own historical horizon.

11 inquiring to know what time or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

Here Peter specifies what the prophets were looking for. They were trying to discern the "what time or what kind of time." They wanted to know the chronology and the circumstances surrounding the fulfillment of their words. Who was this suffering servant? When would He appear? What would the glories that followed His suffering look like? The engine of their prophecy is identified as "the Spirit of Christ within them." This is a profound Christological statement. The third person of the Trinity, at work in the Old Testament, is here named in relation to the second person. The Spirit's testimony was Christ-centered. And the content of that testimony was twofold: the sufferings and the glories. This is the gospel in miniature. Think of Isaiah 53, which speaks so graphically of the Messiah's suffering, followed by Isaiah 54 and the subsequent chapters, which speak of the glorious results of that suffering. The prophets saw these two mountain peaks, suffering and glory, but they could not see the long valley of the church age that lay between them.

12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

God answered their inquiries, but not in the way they might have expected. The revelation they received was that their ministry was not primarily for their own benefit or for their own generation. They were serving a future people: "they were not serving themselves, but you." They were planting trees whose fruit they would not taste in their lifetime. Their words were a stewardship, a deposit held in trust for the saints of the new covenant. And now, Peter says, that prophetic word has been delivered. The "things" they spoke of have been "declared to you." And how? "Through those who proclaimed the gospel to you." This refers to the apostles and evangelists of the early church. And the power behind their preaching was the same as the power behind the prophets' writing: "by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." The Spirit who inspired the prophecy is the same Spirit who empowers the preaching of its fulfillment. Peter concludes with one final, stunning testimony to the greatness of this gospel. These truths are "things into which angels long to look." The word for "look" here is parakypsai, which means to stoop down to get a better view, to peer intently at something. The angels, who behold the face of God, are captivated by the drama of redemption. They have seen God's power in creation, but in the gospel, they see His wisdom and grace in a way that leaves them in awe. They are students of our salvation.

Application

This passage ought to do at least three things for us. First, it should fill us with a profound sense of gratitude. We live in the age of fulfillment. We know the name of the Messiah. We have the completed canon of Scripture. We understand the cross and the empty tomb in a way that Isaiah and David could only dream of. We hold in our hands the very treasure that the prophets of old strained to see. Do we treat it as such? Do we pore over the Scriptures with the same intensity that they did? We have been given the answer key to the great mystery of the ages, and we often treat it like junk mail.

Second, this passage should give us great confidence in the midst of suffering. Our salvation is not a flimsy, modern invention. It is an ancient, rugged, prophet-certified, Spirit-breathed, angel-observed reality. The central pattern of this salvation is suffering followed by glory. If we are called to participate in the sufferings of Christ now, it is only because we are destined to participate in His glory later. Our light and momentary afflictions are set against the backdrop of an eternal weight of glory that is the climax of all of history.

Finally, this passage should humble us. We are the beneficiaries of a ministry that spanned centuries. We stand on the shoulders of prophets who served us without ever knowing our names. And the very truths that are the ABCs of our faith are the subject of intense study by the celestial hosts. If angels, who have never sinned and have no need of a savior, are fascinated by the gospel, how can we who have been rescued by it ever be bored? This salvation is a deep well. We should be diligent to drink from it every day, recognizing it as the most precious gift in the universe, a gift that cost God everything, and a gift that makes us the envy of the ages.