1 Peter 1:12

1 Peter 1:12 ‘It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, --things into which angels long to look'

“It was revealed to them” -God did answer their questions, but maybe not as they expected that He would. The subject matter of their prophecies concerning the Messiah did not have reference to their own times. The verse infers that what the prophets had said had found its fulfillment in the First Century (Acts 3:24). Their prophecies are not for some time still distant in the future. ‘Which now' -i.e. the fulfillment of O.T. prophecy concerning the Messiah and His kingdom “now” being preached through the apostles and New Testament prophets. Even prophets needed revelation concerning an answer to. question which hadn't been as yet revealed. No man has an inherent ability to know God's truth, apart from God's revelation.

“ they were not serving themselves” -I think there is. valuable lesson in these words. Each generation perceives that its own time is somehow of greater significance than all other times. So many people think that ‘surely Jesus will come in my lifetime'.

“but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” -1. The same Spirit which had inspired the prophets (2 Peter 1:20), now announced the fulfillment and correct application of their prophecies (John 16:13; Ephesians 3:2). 2. The mention of the Spirit proved that Christians were receiving the correct interpretation and application of what the prophets had foretold. 3. What. privileged position in which we find ourselves! We have access to truth which was not given to the Old Testament prophets. The Christian today, with the New Testament has. greater insight into the Old Testament, than even Isaiah, Daniel, etc…3. The Gospel message is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Messianic prophecies. Therefore, we must reject any theory which contends that the predictions of the Old Testament prophets are yet to be fulfilled.

“things into which angels long to look” -1. ‘Things'-i.e. the fulfillment of the prophetic messages of the past. 2. ‘Desire'-an eager or intense desire. 3. ‘to look'-‘to stoop to. thing in order to look at it, to look with head bowed forwards, to look into with body bent. To look carefully, inspect curiously.' (Thayer p. 484) ‘Here it portrays one stooping and stretching the neck to gaze on some wonderful sight.' (Vincent p. 635) 4. ‘This earnest desire of the angels to contemplate the sufferings of the Christ, was emblematically signified by the Cherubim placed in the inward tabernacle with their faces turned down towards the mercy-seat.' (Exodus 2:20). (Macknight p. 441)

POINTS TO NOTE: 1. ‘The whole paragraph carries. strong flavour of the newness and the excellence of the church age…Though the world may think such Christians insignificant and worthy of pity or scorn…angels-who see ultimate reality from God's perspective-find them to be objects of intense interest…for they know that these struggling believers are actually the recipients of God's greatest blessings and honoured participants in. great drama at the focal point of universal history. We too may rightly think of our Christian lives as no less privileged and no less interesting to holy angels than the lives of Peter's readers.' (Grudem p. 73) 2. What. tragedy when professed Christians fail to take. serious interest in studying the Word of God or in their own salvation. Oberst notes, ‘Christians, read your New Testament as the angels would like to!' (p. 68) This verse clearly teaches us that being. Christian places you at the focal point of reality. If you want to be ‘in' or ‘where it is at'-then obey the Gospel. 3. Christians need to realize that they have been allowed to participate in something, of which angels are excluded (Hebrews 2:16). In addition, we get to preach the gospel, we get to teach people the truth, we get to save lost souls! This task hasn't been given to angels!