Sermon Prepared by James McCullen
Email Preach Him with Dr. Jim

What Angels Do Not Understand.
1 Peter 1:10-12

Introduction
Did you know you know more than Angels? Our text tells us the gospel story is not known by the Angels. In that since Angels are inferior to Christians. But Angels are still learning and the church will help them understand.

Eph 3:10 10 in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly {places.} (NAS)

1. Angels Do Not Fully Understand the . . Promised Salvation. v 10

2. Angels Do Not Fully Understand the . . Predicted Sufferings.v 11

3. Angels Do Not Fully Understand the . . Prophets Service. v 11
 
 

10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that {would come} to you made careful search and inquiry,

A.    They Did not Understand Even after the Prophets . . Inspiration. v 1 a
            ". . . the prophets who prophesied of the grace . . ."
 

B.    They Did not Understand Even after the Prophets. .Investigation. v 1 b
                ". . . made careful search. . . "

Search Thayers
1567 ekzeteo-
1) to seek out, search for
2) to seek out, that is, to investigate, to scrutinize
Word used for a miners search for minerals.

Heb 11:6   (NAS)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please {Him} for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and {that} He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
 

C.    They Did not Understand Even after the Prophets. . Inquiry. v 1 c
                    ". . . made careful search and inquiry, . . ."

1830 exereunao- Thayers
to search out, search anxiously and diligently; To search after, thoroughly investigate (first used to tell of a dog sniffing out something with his nose). The prophets searched to find out the time of Messiah's appearance.

Only Time this word used In New Testament

Illustration
Jim and Mary Pruitt friends of 40 years called us and drop in for lunch Thursday. While at the restaurant in the course of a conversation Mary said "well it is because men can't find anything because they don't know how to look.

I had never heard those words before, and I ask is that a male deficient? She said yes! I said it's like women, and directions? Jim and Mary began to laugh. Then Mary told this story; in one of their trips Jim ask her will you just take this map and tell me how far we are to the next town?

Mary looked at the map, and held her fingers up, and said "about this far." Jim had to pull off the road and they both had a good laugh.

Application

Perhaps my friend is right; man can't find things because they don't know how to look. I am sure some would suggest if there had been women Prophets they would have found out more. The truth rest in the fact that God did not reveal more.
 

A, They Did not Understand the . . Person of the Sufferings.v 11 a
            ". . . seeking to know what person . . . "

        1.    Did not know who Messiah would be.
 

B, They Did not Understand the . . Time of the Sufferings. v 11 b
   ". . . what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating . . . "

        1.    The Apostle did not Understand concerning the time.
        2.    The apostles did not understand some things about time either.

Matt 24:3
3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what {will be} the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (NAS)
 

C, They Did not Understand the . . Testimony of the Sufferings. v 1 c
            ". . . as He predicted the sufferings of Christ . . . "

Isa 53:4-6
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.   5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (KJV)
 

D.    They Did not Understand the . . Testimony of the Glory. v 1 d
                ". . . and the glories to follow.. . . "

        1.    The Glories to Follow.

John 17:24
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. (KJV)

Acts 4:12
12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (NAS)

Phil 2:9
9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

2 Pet 1:17 (NAS)
17 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 I am well-pleased"--

Illustration
A preacher I was visiting told me how he punished his children when they were small. His son and daughter who are in their teens sat in the room with me.

He said, "I kept a stick handy. When one of them would misbehave, I would get the stick. I would tell him or her how much it hurt me for them to do wrong. Then I would tell them that what they had done deserved to be punished. I would say I couldn't stand to punish them and that they would therefore have to give me their punishment. I would give the stick to the misbehaving child and turn my back and tell him how many times he should strike me."

As I listened, I was a little afraid that the psychology of what he had done might not be good. I glanced at his daughter. She smiled and her voice quivered slightly as she said, "I couldn't stand it when Daddy would make me hit him with the stick. Then he would turn to me with tears in his eyes and reach out his arms to hug me and let me know I was forgiven. I know he loves me. And I'll never do anything to hurt him if I can help it." Romans 4:25

Application

I have a minister friend in California whose son as a child would steal. Harry tried everything to stop him of this habit. Finally he took off his shirt and told his boy to whip him. The boy did not want to whip his dad the father insisted.

The boy lashed the belt on his father a few time and then climbed up on his dad's back and said I can't do it any more dad. I can't hit you any more. I will stop stealing, and he did.

My friend Jesus took the whipping you and I deserve. He suffered for my sin. He is now on glory and wants me to see how his stripes have healed the sin of those who acknowledge him.
 

The word Gospel used 4 times 1 Peter 1:12, 25, 4:6, 4:17

A.    The Prophets Service In the Old Testament. v 12 a

        1.    The Spirit of Christ. v 11

B.    The Prophets Service In the New Testament. v 12b

        1.    The Spirit of Christ. v 12

Illustration
Six Soviet cosmonauts said they witnessed the most awe-inspiring spectacle ever encountered in space--a band of glowing angels with wings as big as jumbo jets. Cosmonauts Vladimir Solovev, Oleg Atkov, and Leonid Kizim said they first saw the celestial beings during their 155th day aboard the orbiting Salyat 7 space station. "What we saw, " they said, "were seven giant figures in the shape of humans, but with wings and mistlike halos, as in the classic depiction of angels. Their faces were round with cherubic smiles."

Twelve days later the figures returned and were seen by three other Soviet scientists, including woman cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya. "They were smiling," she said, "as though they shared a glorious secret."

Application

Angels are messengers of God. He has chosen to allow man too know many of His trues that angels do not know. Yes it is true:

1. Angels Do Not Fully Understand the . . Promised Salvation. v 10

2. Angels Do Not Fully Understand the . . Predicted Sufferings. v 11

3. Angels Do Not Fully Understand the . . Prophets Service. v 11