Gospel Grammar
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you. - 1 Peter 1:1-2, ESV
“Peter reminds his readers that the God who took initiative in their lives has drawn them into an intimate, loving, and redemptive relationship with him, but also one in which God claims supreme authority over their lives. Such a reminder is apt at times when Christians are troubled by the circumstances in which they find themselves, confused about how to live, and tempted to doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness.” – Karen H. Jobes
Dr. Tony Evans is a pastor that I respect. He has done well in describing what I mean when I say, “gospel grammar.” He reminds his listeners of the reality that Christian should never be in the noun position, made to conform to an adjective. Rather, the adjective Christian must be informing and making the noun obedient to it. This reality has many applications but, in the present moment, I want to apply it to our identity in Christ over and above whatever else might be a part of our identity. Peter’s main point in the opening to his letter is focused here. He wants his readers (original and present tense) to understand their identity as followers of Jesus. In fact, the whole import of the letter rests on our not missing or twisting this identity matter. If we see ourselves as something else primarily, (even if it is something good (i.e.- husband, wife, citizen of country), receiving and obeying the remainder of the letter will be impossible. Peter’s reason for starting with our being foreknown and chosen of the Father, sanctified by the Spirit and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus is not for lack of a better introduction to his letter. It’s the only vantage point from which you can make sense of the rest of what is written. And, it is the key to understanding our life in Christ in a world that is opposed to God. In other words, if our Christianity sinks to the noun position, the adjectives will keep pulling and twisting it until it is all out of shape and useless. Rather, our identity must be built on our obedience to Christ, our sprinking with His blood, our sanctifying by the Spirit, our being foreknown and chosen of God. Then, nothing will be able to pull us into its mold, whether its the world, the flesh or the devil. Why? Because, none of those molds will fit with our new identity in obedience to Christ. Only one mold will fit, the mold of Jesus Himself.
The temptation and invitation of other competing identities (adjectives to stick with our grammar lesson) is often subtle. We begin to think of ourselves primarily as a/an __________ Christian (pick any adjective you’d like to modify the noun Christian). Its all downhill from there. Once we give up even the smallest bit of our identity in Jesus to the world, the flesh or the devil, we are compromised in a way that makes obedience hard, and suffering or hardship feel like betrayal. I am a good Christian why would God let me suffer? Your grammar gives you up. Good cannot modify Christian in a way that is identity shaping. Christian must stand and inform whatever else we think of ourselves. It is the most true thing that can be said about those obedient to Jesus. It is our truest self. So, what has been finding its way into the adjectival position in your thinking lately? That is right where you need to remind yourself of the reality of your actual identity. You must preach to yourself, this three part message: I am foreknown and chosen of the Father; I am sanctified by the Spirit; I am obedient to Christ and cleansed by His blood. This over anything else and above everything else must be the bedrock of who we are. Or to put it another way, my identity in Jesus must inform the noun of me. Otherwise I am ignoring Gospel Grammar 101.