1 Peter 1:20-21—Before the foundation of the world to now: Why He came

For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21

For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world…

The spotless Lamb of God was foreknown before the foundation of the world. According to John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In other words, before creation, Jesus was; before the world was founded, Jesus’ calling as the Lamb of God was established.

A second time, later in his ministry, John spoke of the pre-existent nature of Christ. As the now elderly apostle was revealing the deceptive following of evil in the last days, he wrote, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the Antichrist], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8; emphasis added).

… but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God…

The early church believed that they were alive in the last times. Perhaps the apostle John, as he neared the end of his very long life, realized that the last days would be further on in history; but Peter certainly called his day the last times. This was not inappropriate; the Messiah Jesus had appeared after more than a thousand years of prophetic anticipation to bring “whosoever will” to newness of life through faith in Him. For Peter, the hour was late; it was essential that men and women turn to faith in Christ—who appeared, not for His own glory, but for the sake of redeeming men and women back to God.

… who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory…

You know the history. Jesus was brutally beaten and crucified. He hung on the cross at Calvary for hours, His blood draining from His body to the ground below. When Justice was satisfied and His life was expiring, He said with His last breath, “It is finished.”

He died and was buried. Three days later, after all hope had faded of any miraculous intervention, and after the forces of darkness had declared total victory over the life of the humble Son of Man, God acted. Against all human odds, God, the Creator of all things, reached through the grave into the realm of the dead and raised the Messiah from death. The humble Son of Man was now the resurrected Son of God crowned with glory.

… so that your faith and hope are in God.

Throughout the millennia of earth’s existence, men and women have placed their hope and faith in a multitude of causes, dreams, beliefs, deities, and traditions. And yet sadly, all their misplaced trust ended in futility, heartbreak, hopelessness, and despair—that is, “until He appeared and the soul felt its worth” (“O Holy Night”, circa 1847).

Simply stated, Jesus came to die so that you and I could live. Now your hope in Him is an anchor for your soul; now your faith in Him is the substance of things you have hoped for and the evidence of the things you’ve not yet seen.

Because your hope is in Him, you are no longer drifting anchorless in the world; and because your faith is in Him, you will live forever in the presence of God.

Dorothy

© 2015, Dorothy Frick