1 Peter 1:2
2 Elect [eklektos] according [kata] to the foreknowledge [prognosis] of God [theos] the Father [pater], through [en]
sanctification [hagiasmos] of the Spirit [pneuma], unto [eis] obedience [hupakoe] and [kai] sprinkling [rhantismos] of the blood [haima] of
Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos]: Grace [charis] unto you [humin], and [kai] peace [eirene], be multiplied [plethuno]. KJV-Interlinear
2 according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey
Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in
fullest measure. NASB
In this verse, Peter
summarizes the work of all three members of the trinity in the work of
salvation.
The Father authored
the divine plan, Jesus Christ executed the divine plan, and the Holy Spirit
sealed the divine plan on each individual who enters into the divine plan
through faith in Christ.
We who have believed
in Christ, are the elected out from all of humanity. God the Father elected us by means of the
rules He set out for our selection into His family.
His rules are
simple.Believe in the Savior and that
is your requirement for entrance into His family.
Anyone who rejects
the Savior, Jesus Christ, is in effect rejecting God in total. This rejection
is granted by God, and thus becomes the only prayer allowed by God, for
unbelievers.They receive their wish,
which is to live forever apart from God.
Since God controls
everything and stabilizes everything, by living apart from God means living in
an environment that has no controls, no stabilization, no protections
whatsoever.This is the Lake of Fire,
which is filled totally with the terror of insecurity and zero protection, zero
abilities, zero of anything.
In order to be saved
from this terrible destiny, all one has to do is believe in Christ. That act of faith gains you salvation, which
is protection and a guarantee that you will not die that second death and not
go to the Lake of Fire.
God the Father looked
down through all of time, and saw all who would believe in Christ. He has both foreknowledge and
omniscience.These are different in that
foreknowledge is the prior knowledge of all that will occur in history. Omniscience is the knowledge of all that will
occur as well as knowledge of all of the possible scenarios that will not
occur.
With the work of
Christ on the Cross, which is in full compliance with Gods original and only divine
plan, the Holy Spirit sanctifies or makes holy, all who believe in Christ.
Holiness is the
combination of Gods righteousness and Gods justice. Gods righteousness is the state of absolute
perfection - no flaws, no blemishes, no sins, no human good. Gods justice, is the state of cleansing all
of these defects.
When a person
believes in Christ, in that moment, the Holy Spirit sanctifies that person and
enters him into Gods prefect state of fellowship. Many other things are accomplished as well,
but for this verse, we become sanctified (holy) and entered into Gods family.
As believers in Christ,
we are holy, but within our daily functional life, we can obviously commit sins
and become less than holy.This requires
confession in order to re-enter us back into fellowship.
Our salvation and
sanctification is made possible by means of our obedience to believing in
Christ, by Christ s obedience to the plan of the Father, made possible by the
obedience of the Holy Spirit in applying Christ s work to anyone who believes
in Christ.
So, there is only one
plan, and all parties must comply with its requirements. The three members of the Trinity do this, and
our role in salvation, is faith alone, and nothing more. There is no further work required for
salvation.Christ accomplished it all
while on the Cross.
As a result of our
salvation, making us holy, then God is free to bless us. Blessings come from God only to those who are
sanctified (holy), and thus made perfect by means of the work of Christ.
Grace is Gods policy
toward humanity.Mercy is His actions
functioning in grace, or grace in action.
And blessings coming
to us in their fullest measure, means that God is free to bless us with
abundance.Abundance means receiving more
than we could possibly use in an infinite number of life times. That is a lot.
So, what awaits you
in your spiritual life is more than you can possibly imagine.
Salvation is
infinitely greater than no salvation.
Maturity is infinitely greater than no maturity.
Maturity, spiritual
maturity, is your goal, and target for having accomplished the best life
possible, and it is free and available to everyone, by simply learning
doctrine, using doctrine, obeying doctrine, and growing up.