First Peter 1:2 says, “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” The phrase “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” modifies “chosen” in verse 1. Here, the divine economy through the operation of the Trinity of the Godhead for the believers’ participation in the Triune God is unveiled. God the Father’s choosing, His selection, is the initiation; God the Spirit’s sanctification carries out the selection of God the Father; and God the Son’s redemption, signified by the sprinkling of His blood, is the completion. Through these steps the believers have been chosen, sanctified, and redeemed into the enjoyment of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—into whom they have been baptized (Matt. 28:19) and whose virtues they are enjoying (2 Cor. 13:14).
In verse 2 we cannot find the words “Trinity” or “Triune God.” Nevertheless, the fact of the Trinity of the Godhead is contained here, for this verse speaks of the Father’s choosing, the Spirit’s sanctification, and the Son’s redemption. Does this not refer to the Triune God? Is this not the Trinity of the Godhead operating, working, upon His chosen people? Yes, here we see the operation of the Triune God upon the elect for their participation in His full salvation.
In verse 2 Peter speaks of the foreknowledge of God the Father. God chose us before the foundation of the world, in eternity past (Eph. 1:4). Hence, the divine foreknowledge was exercised.
Sanctification of the Spirit here is not the sanctification of the Spirit which comes after justification through the redemption of Christ, as revealed in Romans 6:19, 22; and 15:16. Here, sanctification of the Spirit, as the main emphasis of this chapter, an emphasis on holiness (vv. 15-16), is before the obedience of faith in Christ’s redemption, that is, before justification through Christ’s redemption (1 Cor. 6:11), indicating that the believers’ obedience unto faith in Christ results from the Spirit’s sanctifying work. The Spirit’s sanctification in its two aspects is inclusively revealed in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which is for the full salvation of God to His chosen people. God’s full salvation is carried out in the sphere of the Spirit’s sanctification.
In 1:2 three different prepositions are used for the three steps taken by the Triune God to bring His elect into participation in His full salvation: kata, according to, denotes the ground, the base; en, in, the sphere; and eis, unto, the end, the result. The believers’ obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) in the redemption of Christ and the application of the sprinkling of the blood to them is the result of the Spirit’s sanctification based upon God the Father’s selection.
This verse also refers to the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. In typology, the sprinkling of the atoning blood ushered the sprinkled people into the old covenant (Exo. 24:6-8). Likewise, the sprinkling of Christ’s redeeming blood brings the sprinkled believers into the blessing of the new covenant, that is, into the full enjoyment of the Triune God (Heb. 9:13-14). It is a striking mark that separates the sprinkled people from the common ones without God.
In his writings Paul does not give us a clear view of God’s entire salvation in the way that Peter does. As used in Peter’s Epistles, the word “salvation” implies full salvation. In 2:2 Peter says, “As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word, that by it you may grow unto salvation.” On the one hand, we have been saved; on the other hand, we still need to grow unto salvation. This means that there is a further salvation that we have not yet reached. In other words we are short of some kind of salvation. We do not yet have it, and we need to grow unto it. We need to keep on growing until we reach, arrive at, full salvation. According to 1:5, this is the salvation that is “ready to be revealed at the last time.” When the Lord Jesus comes back, this salvation will be brought in.
We have been saved, and yet we are still suffering. But why do we suffer if we have already been saved? Others may cause us to suffer, and we may even cause suffering to ourselves. For example, do you not suffer as a result of losing your temper? Are you happy when you lose your temper? Some may pray that the Lord will save them from their temper. They may say, “O Lord, save me from my temper. I don’t want to lose my temper anymore. Lord, You are Immanuel, God with us. You are also Jesus, the One who delivers His people from their sins. I confess that losing my temper is sinful. Lord, You are my Savior. You can deliver me from this sin.” However, instead of saving you from your temper, He may allow you to lose it even more. For example, a brother may spend some time praying in the morning. But at breakfast his wife may give him a difficult time and criticize him. First, he tries to suppress his anger. He may ask the Lord to save him and to keep him from losing his temper. However, his wife continues to provoke him until he loses his temper. During the day, the brother suffers as a result of losing his temper with his wife. On the way home from work, the Lord Jesus may tell him to apologize to his wife, something that he finds very difficult to do. Should he refuse and tell the Lord, “I will not apologize to her,” the Lord Jesus may say, “If you don’t do it, I am through with you.” This is an illustration of the fact that even those who are saved continue to suffer.
On the one hand, the Christian life is a life of enjoyment. But we would all agree that, on the other hand, it is also a life of suffering. Do you not experience suffering in your life as a Christian? What Christian can say that he does not have any suffering? Sometimes we testify that we Christians have a good married life and a happy family life. Yes, this is true, and it is part of our testimony. There are times when the husband, the wife, and the children will happily praise the Lord. But we must also admit that sometimes our family life is not at all like this, for a brother and his wife may argue, and the children may be very unhappy. This indicates that we need the Savior and that we need to grow unto salvation. The Lord does not save us from losing our temper. Rather, it is our growth unto salvation that will save us from this.
We have pointed out that in 1:1 and 2 we have the operation of the Triune God upon His elect for their participation in His full salvation. In these verses the divine economy through the operation of the Three of the Godhead for the believers’ participation in the Triune God is revealed. We need to be deeply impressed with this and assimilate the reality of these terms.