Published: January 11, 2026 | Speaker: Mark Freitag | Series: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit 2 - Part 2 | Scripture: 1 Peter 1:8-12; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Hebrews 1:39-40
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Um, Kim had asked me last time if I if I had a title and uh of these the series and I guess of the individual messages. Um, and I
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guess as as I thought about it, I we're still talking about um
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So that's I guess the overlying overarching theme. Um
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I wrote the title last week um the gift of prophecy of prophecy uh looking at um how men of old and knew uh saw the the imminent gift
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uh and the work of the Holy Spirit in in prophecy both in foretelling and for signifying to use one of the uh commentators
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uh phrases for signifying Christ and his sufferings. Um
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today if I were following the theme here.
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perhaps seems a little in Congress um the idea but the the privilege of um and this is this is ours
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um yes we we have the gift so we can see that that the the fact that we learn from the Holy Spirit and his working among men. And um talk about exactly
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uh and I don't want to use that word exactly because I don't exactly understand how the Holy Spirit moved men. So we'll talk about what the words
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seem to signify. Um and I did appreciate several of the commentators who say we weren't there. We didn't witness the
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prophets as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. But it's a wonderful thing and uh it is a gift that we can read their
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words and uh the things that they were taught and moved to to say. Um but I think the idea of the the
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privilege for us of receiving those things and uh experiencing those things. So um I'm going to look
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in part um because we're not going to exhaust them. But basically today three three passages. Um, first Peter
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chapter 1, second Peter chapter 1, chapter 1, and uh, I've kind of tried to broaden out just be beyond so
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we can kind of see this part of it rather than just what the prophets he says about the prophets and then um
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probably going to look at Hebrews 2 next week a little bit um as we look at uh a little more in depth the idea of
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what it was that the the prophets were actually saying their their direction. So, I'm going to read from first Peter
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first and then uh hopefully this will make some sense the the privilege of of prophecy. Um begin first Peter 1 and verse 8
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if you want to follow along. Peter is writing, of course, to these uh ones that I've been saying in the in the sermon series, these resident aliens, uh
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sojourers in the world. And he says, addressing them as you and though you have not seen him, you love him. And though you do not see him now, but
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believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressable and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
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As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person
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or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating, as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to
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follow. 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
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gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. Um hopefully again you see that the
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privilege uh is ours but we experience it now but the um there there's the
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in Peter there there there's the now and there's the future or the not yet for us we experience it now, but the
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consecration will be in the future. But we we look a great deal
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at the past because the the prophets were obviously in the past, but they were looking
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forward to when we would see the now. And I think the scriptures teach us that we and the prophets all looking to the future. Um the
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verse uh 10 in that first Peter passage uh as to this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace the grace that would come to you um they saw that
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unmmerited favor of God. Um, and it it came obviously um it it came with power. that grace that would come to us, the grace that would be um the the living
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fulfillment of their prophecy. They did not see that living fulfillment, but they told of that grace that would come. Yes,
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was given to seems like he's talking the Yeah, as I've studied it and uh tried to tried to answer that question. It's a good question. Is it is he
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speaking mostly to Jews or Gentiles in that region of Bethnia and Galatia that that area that he seems to be
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addressing? My thought is it's mostly Gentiles, but there is an expectation that there is some knowledge of the Old Testament. Um because Peter doesn't I
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mean he you hopefully it's come across in the sermons but you know we we've seen Psalm 34, we've seen Isaiah 53, we've seen uh what is Psalm 110
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and uh some other passages where he just he quotes them. He alludes to them. He there's the echoes coming from the Old Testament. Um so there were
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probably Jews as well. Um converts to Christianity obviously, but um I see mostly Gentiles. And yet somehow,
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you know, that's the disconnect in my brain is how much did they know of the Old Testament? Um, and all I can think is that, um,
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I mean, he he he uses in this passage, um, in these things, uh, verse 12, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who
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preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. So there were there were preachers, there were men teaching them, uh not just Peter, uh
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as far as I take it. And um the Holy Spirit was working through them to teach them. So um it's a good question. How much did they know of the Old Testament?
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How much could they absorb from this? But I think um the um
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I I I guess the I'm trying to think of a word and it's not coming to my brain, but the push for us would be, you know, 21st century Christian, how much do you know of the Old Testament?
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How much do you know of these things of which Peter speaks so freely and as if this is knowledge that that you ought to know? Um, it kind of puts me, you know,
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it's like, um, yeah, I need to I need to go and look that up. Where in Isaiah is that, by the way? Um, because they don't tell you, um, he doesn't say, you know,
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chapter and verse. Yeah. Yeah. He doesn't say see Isaiah 53:6. Um, so yeah, uh, it's a good question. And I'm um I got a book for my for
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Christmas about that thick and it weighs about 42 pounds on the uh uh you know the history the the background of the
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the New Testament from the Old and uh I'm right now I'm just scratching my head over which which Herod are we talking about here? I'm still in, you
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know, I'm still in the Christmas story, Luke 1. Uh, which Herod is this? Um, so trying to learn from that.
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um the prophets didn't experience the grace as we do. um they were not
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privileged to that uh they didn't see the living Christ. They didn't see this side of the cross the way that we do. Um but
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Peter says that they searched. Um one of the commentators um kind of brings out the fact that there's a there's the word the earnestly uh I
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think in some of your translations um it says uh careful searches, careful inquiries. The the word it's earnestly sought and earnestly searched. there
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kind of this doubling of this word this this earnest seeking trying to carefully investigate what this salvation was all about. But notice
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that um and I don't know um whether people get hung up on this. They're not searching so much uh for us.
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What he's saying is he's they're searching for to know verse 11 what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating
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as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
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they saw this and again among many of the Jews you know In Jesus day, you know, they were looking for the coming of the kingdom, you know, the king on the throne, the
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armies. They were not thinking the the Christ, the Messiah going to suffer. But the prophets understood that,
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but they they didn't miss this either.
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the sufferings lead to the glory because of Christ laying down his life. But it was interesting um to read uh go back and re reread from Luke 24.
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You remember the two men on the road to Emmas and they didn't recognize Jesus and Luke writes about them this way and they they
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said to him meaning Jesus the things about Jesus the Nazarene who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people and how
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the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem
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Israel. Their their minds are focused on this is this is what happened, but we were expecting him to deliver us. And they go
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on in that section to talk about and you know we understood that crucifixion and but it's been three days and their minds are spinning trying to understand
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and they're grieving because of what they thought. But this is what Jesus tells them uh skipping down in Luke 24 to verse 25. And he said to them, "Oh
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foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into
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his glory?" The be then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures.
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And I'm I'm sure it's been said many times down through the centuries. Uh don't you wish you could have been there
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to on that road walking with them listening to Christ himself explain
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the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. Uh scriptures. Uh just what a privilege they had. But again, what does Jesus mention? It was
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necessary that he would suffer but also to enter into his glory. Yes. Two comments. The first one was it sounds like Simeon's
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personifies what you're teaching here. The second one in terms of Jesus walking with us and explaining these things. Is that not what the Holy Spirit? Yes. Yes. believer.
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Yes. believer. Yes. Yes. And I didn't mean to make light of that. Um it just, [snorts] you know, it just struck me as wow, you know, to hear it from him at
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that time. But yes, that is the the mission of the Holy Spirit to guide us into all the truth, including all that the prophet said about the Christ and
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his sufferings and glory. Yes. Um this is uh from Acts 26. Paul's testimony before King Agria.
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He says, uh, so having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was
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going to take place, that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of his resurrection from the dead, he would be the first to proclaim light both to the
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Jewish people and to the Gentiles. Again, Paul picks up those sufferings and then the glory that was to follow. Uh consistent theme
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both Jesus, Paul, Peter saying, "Yeah, we're looking back and seeing what they prophesied
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and now experiencing that uh as as having happened for us.
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um in Hebrews 11 um the the people that he mentions there uh his list um they also did not receive
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the fulfillment during their lifetime um the writer to the Hebrews this is chapter 11 uh 39 and 40 and all these
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meaning the people having gained approval through their faith faith did not receive what was promised because God had provided
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something better for us so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Um I'm not sure I understand that
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mystery. Uh God had something better in view for Um so they would not obtain perfection
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uh apart from us. Uh one of the commentators uh and I've forgotten the first name is Moffett said this quote
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God in his good providence reserved the messianic perfection of Jesus Christ until we could share it. um that helps me a little bit to to
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understand the perfection um of of Christ in his mission in his work, his death, burial, resurrection
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uh until we could share in that um the fulfillment of the promise uh awaited our day, the day of of New
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Testament believers. Um the writer again to the Hebrews uh writes about the the spirit of the righteous made perfect. Um there just
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seems to be something about that um the the prophets waiting until these things happened. Um,
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happened. Um, yes. Comment after all. I don't get it.
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Yes. Uh, thank you. Yeah, Daniel. Um, yeah. Says that I didn't uh record that one here, but yeah, thank you. uh you know he he says I I see uh but I don't understand it all. I don't have it all.
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And and I I think um I said before the the prophets of the past there there's a future for them.
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There's future for all of us. I mean again Hebrews uh says this uh this is chapter nine. So Christ also, having been offered once to
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bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him. And that has to include these
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faithful from the old. I mean, they believed. They they they saw it, but from a distance. They greeted it. I think one of the writers says from afar
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but but their faith was was in Christ. They the glory that would be his and uh so there is that still even for us and
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for them something that awaits. Um but I think one of the things that kind of I had to be reminded I kind of got um
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lost kind of thinking of this this mystery and and one of the writers uh I don't know somehow prompted me in my thinking remember Peter's context when
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he's when he's writing these things to these resident aliens um it's Um
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it's Um uh one of the commentators called uh this this section uh 1 Peter 1 uh 10-12 as as Peter's hermeneutical key to his
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reading of the Old Testament that that what was true of Christ the the sufferings and the glory to follow is going to be true of the church
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that he saw saw the the church participating in a great restoration um promised in the Old Testament through
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Jesus Christ and his sufferings and glory. And so when we read Peter um again he's he's saying yes you'll have
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sufferings now but there will be glory to follow that our hope in Christ transcends our trials. It transcends um
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the things that come upon me day by day. It strengthens my faith and it it will bring blessings in this life as we've
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seen from chapter three of Peter. But there will also be the blessings to come and we will share in Christ's glory at the end of the days. Um
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and this privilege is is ours. Um, the prophets saw it, understood some of it.
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But Peter adds this little uh enigmatic kind of phrase to me. He says, "These are things into which angels long to
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look." Um the the angels don't experience grace the way people do as far as I can see be because they don't receive
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redemption. Um one of the commentators just wrote simply angels marvel believers experience. believers experience. And I don't know again I'm
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not I don't understand much about angels but I do know that the privilege is ours from what Peter says the emphasis in Hebrews and Peter and Paul the the
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privilege is ours and uh we experience uh these things and Jesus reminds us of this from Matthew 13 reminding those that he was
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speaking with. speaking with. But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets
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and righteous men desire to see what you see and did not see it and hear what you hear and did not hear it. Um the
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privilege is ours and is great.
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Uh, that's Matthew 13. Uh, I think it's 13. Yeah, 13,16 and 17.
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I'm not sure I like the uh the title I wrote to this next section, but there is especially
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among people that at least I know that are skeptical of Christianity and the scriptures. How do you know it's the truth?
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Um, and what we see and and I think in second Peter 1 hopefully we'll see that the truth of Jesus incarnation, the truth of who he was
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uh is based on the prophecies of the Old Testament. But Testament. But they because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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Um the words are authoritative. They they have power. They they have um an accuracy to them. And
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as Peter says, they're not the invention of of any man. Um let me just read second Peter 1:16-21.
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For we did not follow carefully or clear yeah cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were witness eyewitnesses of his majesty.
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For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, "This is my beloved son with whom
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I am well pleased." And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word
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made more sure to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawn and the morning star arises in your hearts. But
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know this first of all that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. But men moved by the Holy
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Spirit spoke from God. Um that that's packed to like neutron density here. Um but we see
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the prophecies were inspired by the
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So, do you trust him or not? Um, he has the authority. He has the the words, the influence, if
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you will, the emphasis. Um, and we're going to we're going to talk about these, and perhaps some of you have had these questions as we've gone
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along. The the wording of of Peter, uh, the spirit of Christ, or in this case, um, verse, um,
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yeah, trying to find it. um yeah from from first Peter the Holy Spirit sent from heaven but there's also
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one um the spirit of his son those things we're going to kind of reserve that for a different lesson. Why does he call him the spirit of Christ? Why does
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he call him the spirit of the son? Um so we'll we'll hopefully have a chance to dive into that. um but they were revealed by the Holy Spirit.
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In this case, he says um the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Um in 1 Peter 12 again um those who preach the gospel to you by
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the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Um there there is uh again the the authority of the Holy
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Spirit to actually communicate to to speak. Um so
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oh yep I'm doing that more and more. Lost my spatial ability. um or it just jumped out and hit me. I you you tell
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me. They were speaking words of truth. Um and even those who preached and I believe that the Holy Spirit was in these men who preached to them um after
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Christ's resurrection. Christ's resurrection. um they um they spoke these words of truth through the gospel. But again the the authority and
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the the authority is there but
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one S, two Rs. I think the the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the prophets
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and through those who preach to these believers centered on Christ. It it wasn't directed to him, the Holy Spirit. It was
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centered on Jesus and it glorifies him and in all cases calls attention to Christ. Um
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Christ. Um the uh the uh the charge uh in a lot of cases to to Christians is that you know
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you believe a myth, you believe uh just uh and it was quite close to home. My my dad u could never
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quite I I'll I'll say it politely this way wrap his mind around the fact that men wrote the Bible and he being a man knew they were
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fallible and said how how do you know that these things are truth and my response now I'm not sure what my response was in that discussion
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But the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the direction of where he speaks, the authority doesn't come from the men.
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Even though it is a mystery how the Holy Spirit moved them. Uh but what Peter is saying in this and and we'll hopefully next time have a chance
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to to dig deeper into it. Obviously, Peter's looking at the transfiguration on the mount and he's saying we were eyewitnesses of
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these things, this power, this glory, this authority uh in the utterance uh and hearing God, the what he calls the majestic glory
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majestic glory say this thing, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The prophets didn't know those things
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but it was revealed to them that they would be realized in in our day. And Peter is now saying, "Yeah, that that's true." That we realize them in a very
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very graphic way. I had the privilege of being there as an eyewitness to see these things. these things. So that the the Old Testament prophecies
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um the the prophets knew that they not only applied to the New Testament believers, but as one of the commentators saying, they were intended for them
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that they would be able to to see these things and look back and put all those things back together.
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Um, and somehow the prophets knew that that that the Holy Spirit impressed on their minds somehow that they were serving us by by speaking and and writing what they
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did. um they understood and again I don't know how far I my notes I say something like to some degree they understood the transcendent glory that was to be ours
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on this side of the cross but how much I'm struggling to try to understand yes a prophecy to be true must
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doesn't it is not from God right So that's why
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Right. Right. Um yeah, I'm trying to find um I I thought I had written something down. What what uh Abe is is talking about is is the the authority and the
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how how do we know this is truth? They have to come true. Um, I think it's in
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23. Uh there's there's a section uh
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yeah um yeah, that's kind of the bottom line. Um, in Jeremiah 23 it says, "For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord because every man's own word will become the oracle and you have perverted the words of the living God,
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the Lord of hosts, our God." Um, that to me that's the outcome of what he's saying further back. Um there's a section um and and one of the
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commentators used this this idea that when um Peter uses the language um at the end of verse 21, second Peter
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1:21, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. What is that? What is that really? Um the the Greek seems to
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be translated as born along by the Holy Spirit from God. They made utterance. But again, what is being born? It's as if the Holy Spirit inhabited their
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faculties that um that he acted their faculties. Um, and
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the idea that they they in that motion of the Holy Spirit, they run, they they move, which brings us to
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Jeremiah 23 Jeremiah 23 when when God is talking about these false prophets, this is what he says in verse 21 of 23. I did not send these
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prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. See, the true prophets who spoke the truth, when the Holy Spirit moved them,
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they ran. And when he inspired them, they prophesied. They in truth. But what he's saying is these false prophets, they ran and they prophesied, but it
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wasn't my influence. it wasn't me. And then the outcome is and everybody will have their oracle and everybody will be a prophet and everybody will believe
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what they want to believe because they perverted my word and my truth. And again, it kind of makes my head spin trying to understand um
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that the Lord by the Holy Spirit through these prophets is is verifying his word. And um
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And um Peter is saying our eyewitness of the transfiguration is verifying that the Lord will return that he will come in judgment and he will
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come in salvation for those who are his. Therefore, everybody who's reading me, pay attention to the illumination of the
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Holy Spirit and the revelation given by the prophets because when Jesus returns, the
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illumination that we have will be beyond the day dawning. It will be beyond the illumination of the sun.
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Um because the true morning star will arise and be visible. Um there's something in the power of what uh and
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perhaps we'll we'll start with this next time. The power of what he saw in the transfiguration and the power of the words that he heard
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from God declaring Christ his son has given Peter given Peter an assurance um with that seems too weak
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of a word some depth that depth that this this can't have come from men. It
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can't have been made up. It can't have come from their will or desire or anything else. That the Holy Spirit had to act on their intellectual faculties
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to be able to write these things and say them. And we got to experience the outcome, the power, and the glory
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firsthand. Um, that's what I see. Um the prophets were not ex enlightened to the full extent
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we should be able to see it. We should be able to see it. Pay attention. He says as a lamp shining in a dark place and and you will know
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you will experience what I did. the power, the authority, the glory that is ours. Let us end in prayer.
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Our heavenly father, we do thank you for these these words of the prophets, the incredible the incredible things that they spoke, the incredible
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things that we can now experience in Christ. And I do pray that you would would keep us from falsehood, keep us from false ideas about who these men
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were and what happened. But I do pray, Father, that uh we would be thankful and give glory to you for the privilege that is ours to have seen
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these things, the the risen Christ and look forward to that day when we all all believers in him will gather together and see the morning star. We ask that
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you would would do these things for us and that you would um carry us through our days in a manner that truly pleases you. We ask in Christ's name. Amen.