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be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me."
Here is the basis for a powerful unity for service and ministry and it was under these
measures of grace that Peter was elected to serve his brethren. It is under the same terms
of powerful enabling that God calls us to preach and manifest the riches of His Word,
leading to such fullness of knowledge of God. His ways and purposes that we are
prepared for a reality of unity with Him and the knowledge to praise Him in sincerity.
"Unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (1: -2-).
The only occurrence in the New Testament of the phrase "sprinkling of the blood" is
in Heb. 12: 24:
"Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of Abel."
This quotation links the task of Peter, to which he was to be obedient, with preparing
his people for the establishment of the new covenant which as we have previously said
was foretold in Jer. 31: 33.
"Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied" (1: -2).
Those who heard Peter's words and accepted them had grace or free undeserved
favour added to them indeed. The picture in Acts is exciting.
"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for
as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the
things that were sold and laid them down at the apostles' feet! and distribution was made
unto every man according as he had need" (Acts 4: 33-35).
Coming now to verse 3 Peter commences his epistle to his flock with the same phrase
as Paul does to his calling in Eph. 1: 3:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The word blessed in both cases is eulogetos (our eulogy) "let us speak well of". Here
is an exhortation to praise God and speak well of Him to the world for the peculiar grace
He had accorded to us in Christ. For Peter's brethren it was being born again to the hope
of living again in resurrection, the thought of which is repeated in verse 23:
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever."
For us all it is the acceptance and merging by us of the written and living Word that
our rebirth is accomplished as was also expressed in John 1: 14, 15.
The living hope mentioned in verse 4 is now described more particularly: