Peter may have been a fisherman, but he was also an excellent writer. He spent a great deal of time studying the Old Testament. He found out into what the prophets had searched, and he had the boldness to say that while the prophets were searching, the Spirit of Christ was in them. As we pointed out in the previous message, the constitution of the Spirit of Christ is dispensational. This means that the Spirit of Christ was constituted dispensationally through and with Christ’s death and resurrection. However, the function of this Spirit is eternal, because He is the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14). Regarding the constitution of the Spirit of Christ, time is a factor. But regarding the function of the Spirit of Christ, time is not a factor. The Spirit of God was sufficient and adequate for creation, but for the carrying out of God’s full salvation and for the application of this salvation, there is the need of the Spirit of Christ. When the Old Testament prophets were searching into what manner of time Christ would come to suffer, the Spirit of Christ was working in them. This means that the Spirit of the Triune God—the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit of Christ—was operating in them. According to function, there is no difference between the Spirit’s work in the prophets and His work in the apostles. It was the same Spirit with the same function.
First and 2 Peter were written to Jewish believers. The Jews knew God, and they trusted in the sprinkling of animal blood. Although they knew God, they did not know Him as the Father of Christ. Furthermore, they knew the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jehovah, but they did not know the Spirit of Christ. In 1:2 Peter purposely uses the expression “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” to differentiate this sprinkling from the sprinkling of animal blood in the Old Testament. Furthermore, in 1:3 he speaks of “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” to distinguish the God of the Christians from the God of the Jews. Now we see that he even used the term “the Spirit of Christ” instead of the Spirit of God in order to make yet another distinction. Peter was seeking to convince the Jewish believers that even the Old Testament prophets were the same as New Testament Christians. The Spirit of Christ who is in New Testament Christians was also working in the Old Testament prophets.
As a rule, in the Old Testament times the Spirit was upon the saints, not in them. But here, based on the principle of the eternal function of the Spirit of Christ, is an exception: we are told that the Spirit of Christ was working in the Old Testament prophets. Peter says that the Spirit of Christ in them made the prophets clear concerning what manner of time Christ would suffer. It is a shame that so many of the New Testament believers are not clear about this. Probably only now do you understand what Peter means by what manner of time Christ would suffer.
Peter’s expression “what manner of time” implies a great deal. It indicates to the Jewish believers that the manner of time of Christ’s coming was a time of unbelief. This is also the manner of time in which we live today. In Peter’s day not many Jews believed in the Lord Jesus. Rather, those who believed suffered persecution. The unbelieving Jews challenged the Jewish believers, saying, “Look, what a small number believe in your Jesus! Why are you so foolish as to believe in a Nazarene who was put on the cross?” The manner of time of Christ’s coming surely was a manner of unbelief. It is the same today. We should not expect many Jews to believe in the Lord Jesus. The manner of time of Christ’s coming is unbelief. This means that unbelief is a characteristic of the time of Christ’s coming. Isaiah asked, “Who has believed our report?” Peter certainly saw this unbelief in those of his day. Peter reported, but very few Jews responded. That was the manner of time. Many Christians today expect to have a great revival. That, however, is against the principle that the manner of time of Christ’s coming is characterized by unbelief.
Peter’s composition may not be refined, but he was nevertheless a giant in spiritual experiences. He may not have had a thorough knowledge of the Greek language, but he surely knew spiritual experience. In using his limited knowledge of the Greek language, Peter tried his best to put the aspects of his experience into words. In particular, he put a lot in 1:11. I would like to follow Peter in caring for spiritual experience and for the riches of Christ rather than for language.