Concerning this salvation...

Read 1 Peter 1:10-12

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This is the third mention of salvation in Peter’s opening section – it’s a salvation which is both future and present in its blessing (5,9) but which also has its origins in the past (10). The prophets of old “spoke of the grace that was to come”, though they had only an inkling of how “the true grace of God” would be revealed to the world through Jesus (1 Pet.5:12; Jn.1:14-17).

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As prophets, the Holy Spirit in them had pointed to the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, which is why Peter refers to the Spirit as “the Spirit of Christ” (11; 2 Pet.1:19-21; Messiah in Hebrew = Christ in Greek). In particular, they predicted the Messiah’s sufferings and glories. Through his death and resurrection salvation would be achieved and God’s grace made known (Eph.1:7-10).

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These verses show the Old Testament’s inspiration and also tell us how to read it, always looking for its fulfilment in Jesus (e.g. Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-36). Otherwise, we will be left as puzzled as those prophets. Through the gospel of Jesus, revealed to us by the same Holy Spirit (12), we are blessed and privileged in a way that the prophets could only dream of and which even angels can only understand in part.