Home • Bible Studies • Declaring the Excellencies of Christ in Word and Deed: A Study of 1 Peter

What We Declare
The Gospel of Jesus ChristBy Jake Hanson
One of the exciting things about the book of 1 Peter is in how comprehensive the book is for such a short writing. Within just a few chapters, we find a passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its fullness.
Defining the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been a favorite game of Christian leaders in the past century, normally with the leader either over-simplifying the Gospel on the one hand, or making it so broad, on the other, that it begins to lose its potent value. We must resist both and oversimplification, and a generalizing of the Gospel. To do either is to lose the mystery and excitement that it offers, for "it is the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16).
Key Question: How would you define the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The Gospel—the Good News—of Jesus Christ is not just His death on the Cross. It must also include His Resurrection from the dead. And more than that, it must include the entire drama of the life of Jesus Christ: past, present and future. Peter gets this, as we will see in this summary of 1 Peter and its inclusion of the drama of Jesus Christ.
Let's look at 1 Peter 1:1-9:
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia,and Bithynia, who are chosen 2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and besprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."
Right in the opening of this letter, we get a glimpse of the passion of Peter for the Good News that we have as believers in Jesus Christ. We have been born again to a living hope. But look also at Peter's more explicit references to the Gospel. Look at chapter 4:6:
“For this purpose the Gospel has been preached to the dead, that . . .
they may live according to God in spirit.”
When we were born into this world, we were born dead in our sins. We were sinful by nature, and we are sinners by our experience. But for those of us who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus, we are made alive by the work of Christ. And that is amazingly Good News.
This Good News is amplified by another verse in 1 Peter. Look at chapter 1:12:
“...these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Gospel to you . . . things into which angels long to look.”
The literal words in this verse say that the angels desired to stoop down and look. The angels have been in the very presence of God and in His heavenly court, but yet, they desire to stoop down and get a glimpse of this magnificent Gospel. It is the same word as when Peter himself stooped down to look at the empty tomb where Jesus had lain. It is an eager look into something.
Key Question: How is the Gospel viewed by this world? By the Church? By you?
I am burdened by the fact that many within the Church of Jesus Christ have become bored with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have set it aside, or attempted to redefine it in ways that are often 'another gospel' altogether.
It's an irony, though, isn't it? The angels of God stoop down to look. But we, the recipients of the Gospel, yawn instead.
We must stoop down to look at it. As the author of Hebrews has commanded,
"...we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it."
In the following pages, we will take some time to consider the drama of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to see how it really is Good News. It is this message that we are to declare to a world in great need of Good News.
We will be looking at the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Holy Spirit, and the Second Coming of the Lord, and the Eternal Glory.
Next: The Wonder of the Gospel