Working Together

547.  "Working Together"             June 22, 2012
1 Peter 1-Part 7
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searching intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.  1 Peter 1:10 NIV

LET IT GLOW

In my high school, we always had a junior and senior plays to help as fund raisers for the prom. Several of us were the actors while others worked on the props and advertising. It took all of us working together for the plays to be a success.
It also takes all the saints in a church, the children, young adults, middle aged, seniors, to share the gospel and God's love in a community. As we work together for the cause of Christ, so did the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testaments work together, along with us saints today. Shall we find out more?

Who were the divine agents that made it possible to look at the great promised salvation of God?

• Old Testament prophets
• the Holy Spirit
• the New Testament apostles
• the angels.

Looking at the Old Testament prophets, we know they:
* believed and were personally saved from their sin by that faith (blood sacrifice of Christ),
* they could not fully understand what was involved in the life and death of Jesus Christ, but testified
   of His sufferings to come,
*foretold of a greater grace to come,
*searched to know who would be the person and when He would appear,
*knew it was a future Savior coming,
*understood they were ministering to people in the future (us believing Christians and the church).
The Holy Spirit:
*resided in the prophets,
*enabled them to write about the glorious salvation to be consumated in the future.
The angels desired to look into all of this. Look into means stooping down close to get a peek at. They had always wanted to comprehend, but have never been able to accomplish it. They can't understand what salvation is all aabout. We have the privilege not only of full exposion, but of real possession. (Falwell)
I say that is a quite a privilege! Several times angels, messengers of God, were sent to tell people of both the OT and NT a message-Sarah, Hagar, Hannah, Mary, Joseph, John to name a few.
The New Testament apostles and preachers of the gospel proclaimed that the prophecies written by the OT prophets had come to pass. What the prophets predicted, the apostles reported as facts.
[Resource: The MacArthur Bible Commentary]

I can see how the Old and New Testaments work together with one predicting and the other fulfilling prophecies proclaimed. How blessed we are to be able to read about both. And then there were scriptures that told of the Second Coming of Christ. John was faithful to record his revelation of the future events.
It takes all of us believing to make God's plan complete. Isn't He a wonderful God?

LET IT GROW

Here are a few predictions about Jesus, the Savior:

• bruises the head of the serpent (Satan)-Genesis 3:15 (Rev. 20)
• son of a virgin born to be called Immanuel-Isaiah 7:14 (Luke 1,2)
• the government shall be upon His shoulder,-Isaiah 9:6(Rev. 19:16, Luke 23:38))
• bore all of our sins, wounded, bruised, beaten-Isaiah 53:5-6 
• of the family of Jesse-Isaiah 11:1(Matt. 1:5)
• born in Bethlehem-Micah 5:2. (Luke 2:4)

Jesus said that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)
The Bible is true, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, for doctrine, reproof correction and instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

LET IT GO

Be faithful to teach God's Word, the Truth.

Apply it to my life.

Keep my faith in Jesus, no matter what.

Be grateful for my salvation that Jesus provided.

Avoid other religions.