1 Peter 1:10 - Meaning and Application

The apostle has already described the people he was writing to and the great blessings they enjoyed. Now he shows why they could trust what he had told them. Since they were Jews and deeply respected the Old Testament, he points them to the prophets. This shows that salvation through faith in Jesus Christ was not a new teaching, but the same truth the old prophets had carefully searched out.

First, notice who did this searching: the prophets. These were men inspired by God to speak or write things beyond their own strength or learning, such as future events and God’s will, by the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Second, notice what they searched for, salvation and the grace that would come to them. This means the full salvation of people from all nations through Jesus Christ, and especially the mercy that would come to the Jews, since he was sent first to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). They looked ahead to bright days of light, grace, and comfort for the church, and that made them long to see the gospel days.

Third, notice how they searched. They “enquired and searched diligently.” The words are strong, like miners who dig deep and break through rock to find ore. These holy prophets earnestly wanted to understand the grace of God that would be revealed in the Messiah’s days, and they worked hard to learn it. Their being inspired did not remove the need for careful study. Even Daniel, though greatly beloved and inspired, understood the timing by books and study (Daniel 9:2). Their own revelations still called for meditation, prayer, and careful thought, because many prophecies had more than one layer of meaning. At first they might point to a near event, but their final aim was to describe Christ, his suffering, or his kingdom.

This teaches us several things. The salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ has been the study and wonder of the wisest people. The greatness of the subject, and their own need for it, led them to study it closely. A good person is also glad for God’s mercy shown to others, not only to himself. The prophets were deeply moved by the mercy God would show both Jews and Gentiles when Christ came. If inspired prophets needed to search so carefully, then we, who are weak and often slow to understand, surely need to search diligently too.

It also shows that the grace brought by the gospel is greater than all that came before it. The gospel age is clearer, fuller, broader, and more powerful than any earlier arrangement God gave. The prophets especially searched into the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. That brings in the whole gospel message, that Christ was handed over because of our sins and raised for our being made right with God, that is, for our justification, our being accepted as right with God.

They also wanted to know the time and the kind of time when the Messiah would appear. They longed to see the days of the Son of Man, and they wanted to know, as far as the Spirit of Christ in them had shown, when it would happen. They were also concerned with the character of those days, whether they would be calm or troubled, peaceful or full of war.

This teaches that Jesus Christ existed before his human birth, because his Spirit was already at work in the prophets. It also shows that the doctrine of the Trinity, one God in three persons, was not completely unknown in the Old Testament. The prophets knew they were moved by a Spirit within them, and they knew that Spirit was the Spirit of Christ, distinct from Christ himself. So there is a plurality of persons, and other Old Testament passages also point to the Trinity. The work here given to the Holy Spirit also proves that he is God, since he revealed Christ’s sufferings centuries ahead of time, confirmed that truth through the prophets, worked miracles to support it, and enabled believers to receive it.

We should also learn from Christ to expect a time of service and suffering before glory. It was true for him, and the disciple is not above his Master. The suffering season is brief, but the glory lasts forever. No matter how sharp the trial, it cannot stop the far greater and lasting glory God will bring out of it.

Their search was not wasted. God gave the prophets a clear answer that calmed and comforted them. They learned that these things would not happen in their own day, but they were certain and would come in the time of the apostles. They were “not to themselves, but to us,” and the apostles were to report these things to the world under the Holy Spirit’s sure guidance.

Here we see three kinds of students of salvation through Jesus Christ. The prophets searched into it. The apostles studied the prophecies, saw them fulfilled, and then preached what they knew to others. The angels also look closely into these matters. This shows that earnest effort to know Christ and our duty will be rewarded. The prophets received a revelation. Daniel studied and gained understanding. The Bereans searched the Scriptures and were confirmed.

It also shows that even the holiest and best people sometimes have their proper and godly requests denied.

It was both right and godly for these prophets to want to know more about when Christ would appear in the world, even though God did not allow them to know it. In the same way, it is right for good parents to pray for their wicked children, for poor people to pray against poverty, and for a good man to pray against death. Yet God often refuses these honest requests. He is pleased to answer our true needs rather than every request we make.

It is an honor and a mark of Christian life to be useful to others more than to ourselves in many cases. The prophets served others, not themselves. “None of us lives to himself” (Romans 14:7). Nothing goes more against human nature and Christian teaching than for a person to make himself his own goal and live only for himself.

God’s messages to his church came gradually and in parts, but they all fit together perfectly. The teaching of the prophets and the teaching of the apostles agree exactly, because both came from the same Spirit of God. The success of gospel ministry depends on the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. The gospel is the ministry of the Spirit, and its power depends on his work and blessing.

The mysteries of the gospel and the way God saves people are so glorious that even the blessed angels long to look into them. They study them carefully, closely, and with deep interest. They consider the whole plan of human redemption with awe and wonder, especially the truths the apostle has just been speaking about. “Which things the angels desire to stoop down and look into,” like the cherubim who continually looked toward the mercy seat.