The great object of the Apostle in writing this Epistle, as we have seen, is to sustain the minds and hearts of these Christians – to enable them to remain "steadfast and unmovable" in the faith – amid the manifold trials to which they were exposed. We have seen his method in attaining this end, that is, by reminding them of the source of their salvation – God; the origin of it – the sovereign electing love of God; the ground of it – the covenant of redemption (salvation is the work of the Triune God); the means of accomplishment – through the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit; the end of it – the possession of an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. And though for awhile they are sorely tried and afflicted, yet their inheritance and final salvation is secure being reserved for them in heaven, and they themselves being preserved unto it by the power of God. And not only so, but also the sufferings themselves are part of the overall plan of God. He reminded them, moreover, that this salvation has not only the promise of future blessedness, but the reality of present enjoyment "receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." It is, you see, pre-eminently a Pastoral Epistle.

In these verses, pursuing the same end, viz. to sustain them in their faith, the Apostle takes another and equally efficient proof of the greatness and certainty of their final salvation by presenting it as the one great or leading subject of: (a) Old Testament prophecy, (b) Apostolic preaching, and (c) Angelic study.

First, fetching his argument from far off, as it were, the great Apostle established the certainty of the gospel of salvation by the antiquity of it, for it has engrossed, he says, the thoughts of the prophets – "of which salvation the prophets have inquired and search diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come to you."

Those great men, "the choice spirits of the ages which they adorned", were delighted to preach of this salvation as a blessing to be revealed in after ages. They did not themselves altogether understand what they were called to reveal, for the Holy Spirit often carried them beyond themselves, and made them utter more than they understood. They rejoiced in the testimony of the Spirit within them, but they were not free from the necessity to search and to search diligently. From righteous Abel down to Malachi all of them lived, and many of them died, that they might bear witness to "the grace which is come unto you." They themselves were, no doubt saved; but still, the full understanding and enjoyment of the truth was reserved for us. Unto them was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things of God.

All this was revealed unto them by "the Spirit of Christ, which was in them." This is the doctrine of the verbal inspiration of the Holy Bible. And, indeed, it must be so, for the human mind is not able to understand and to express all the thoughts of God, for they are too sublime; and, therefore, God dictated to them the very language which they should deliver. Verbal inspiration, however, does not suggest mechanical inspiration. These mighty men of God were not mere automata, some kind of typewriter, in the hands of the Holy Spirit. In the words of J. Brown "we are not to suppose that in uttering them, their minds were entirely passive, and that the Holy Spirit only employed their organs of speech to express words to which they attached no idea … they were the expression of thoughts communicated to their minds. They knew that they referred to great blessings to be bestowed on the Church; but as to the precise nature and extent of these blessings and as to the period when and the manner in which they were to be bestowed, they were much in the dark."

And what were the things that were revealed unto them, which they "inquired and searched diligently, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify"? According to our English Bible, it was "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." Now, this is a true sentiment of Old Testament scriptures, for the prophets are indeed full of Christ, speaking extensively both of His sufferings, and the glory that should follow. But these are not the prophecies which the Apostle has in mind here. He is not referring to prophecies concerning the sufferings of Christ personally, and the glory that should follow, but to those concerning the sufferings of His people, and their subsequent glory. This is evident, first, from the context, for the subject of the Apostle's discussion is not Christ, but the manifold trials to which Christians are exposed for a season, and the glory that awaits them in the last day. The burden of his message is, as we have seen, to comfort and encourage, and assure these persecuted Christians amid the "fiery trials" to which they were exposed. To that end he has employed every argument to sustain them in the faith, and he is still continuing with the same subject.

But, secondly, this is evident from the form of words which the Apostle uses. This is not obvious in our language, but it is very clear in the original. What Peter says is not "the sufferings of Christ, etc." but "the sufferings in Christ," or "the sufferings on account of Christ."

That the sufferings and subsequent glory not only of Christ but of His people also have been the subject of divine revelation and prophetic inquiry and research is evident from such Old Testament passages as Isaiah 25:8, "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it;" Isaiah 60:19-20, "The sun shall no more light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be thy everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." etc. (For a fuller treatment of this interpretation see J. Brown on 1 Peter Vol. I pp. 76-81).

Secondly, when prophecy has ceased, the Holy Spirit came upon another set of men of whom the text speaks. Peter says of these things, that they "are now reported unto you by them that preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." These were the Apostles and their associates – the evangelists – who testified to this salvation, their witness being verified and sealed by diverse signs and miracles wrought by the operation of the Holy Spirit.

See here the apostolic assertion of the unity, continuity and divine origin of the Holy Scriptures. Both the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles spoke of the same gospel of salvation and both under the inspiration of the same Spirit of Christ, which spoke in and by them. There has been no new salvation; there has been a change of messengers, but they have all spoken of one thing, and though their tidings have been more clearly understood in these latter days, the substance of the good news is still the same. In the words of Spurgeon,

"The Old Testament and the New are one, inspired by the same Spirit, and filled with the same subject, namely, the one promised Messiah. The prophets foretold what the apostles reported. The seers looked forward, and the evangelists looked backward: their eyes meet at one place; they see eye to eye, and both behold the cross."

They all, whether prophets or apostles, spoke of the gospel of our salvation – the glory that awaits Christ's people. But they also told us of the way of attaining the glory, namely "through much tribulation."

This is a missing note in present day evangelism. In the interest of "winning" the world for Christ, central truths, which have been the marrow of apostolic preaching, are suppressed and denied. Truths such as the total depravity of man, his natural enmity against God, his utter inability in matters of salvation, God's sovereignty, His electing love, etc., are at best concealed and at worst blatantly rejected. And together with all these cardinal truths, the truth also that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God," is obscured. We must not frighten the people, we are told, we must not turn them off. We must try to attract them and win them for Christ "We!" It is between us and them, you see. So how does the average modern evangelist start? "God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for you."

But this is not the apostolic message, nor their method. In their preaching both "the suffering on account of Christ" and the subsequent glories were always brought forth together. "In the world," says our Lord, "ye shall have tribulations: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." "And if children," says Paul, "then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." And in the above quoted verse he says "that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." And not to multiply texts, let me give you but one more from Peter. "Beloved," says he, "think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: But rejoice, in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with him."

Nor have we merely prophets inquiring and searching diligently, and apostles preaching this gospel of our salvation which the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, but thirdly, the angels themselves "desire to look into." We know very little of these heavenly beings: we know, however, that they are pure spirits. They are not concerned in the atonement of Christ so far as it is a ransom for sin, seeing they have never fallen into sin, – whatever other advantage they may derive from the death of Christ. But they take such an interest in us, their fellow creatures, that they have an intense wish to know all the mysteries of our salvation. The expression is a very strong one meaning to bend, to stoop down, to gaze intensely, to fix earnestly one's eyes upon a thing in order to obtain the fullest insight into it. The peculiar mode of expression probably alludes, as J. Brown says, to the figures of the cherubim above the mercy-seat and looking down upon it, with steady gaze. Perhaps Peter was thinking of this holy imagery. They stand intently gazing into the marvel of Propitiation by blood. Can you see the beauty of the spectacle? "If we know that the door was opened in heaven, would not men be anxious to look in and see heaven's wonders? But the case is here reversed, for we see a window opened towards this fallen world and heavenly beings looking down upon the earth, as if heaven itself had no such object of attraction as Christ and his salvation" (Spurgeon). Or in the words of Isaac Watt:

Archangels leave their high abode
To learn new mysteries here, and tell
The love of our descending God,
The glories of Immanuel.

Paul says that to principalities and powers in the heavenly places shall be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Oh, with what intense interest the angels must have gazed into the unfolding of the great mystery of Redemption, whereby God justifies the ungodly while remaining perfectly just. But while they learn this, they long to discover more of the truth wrapped up in the one great sacrifice: They peer and pry, and search and consider into it, and hence the doctrines of the gospel of our salvation are spoken of as "things which the angels desire to look into."

Oh, what a comfort and assurance all these provide to the child of God sorely tried and afflicted! To know that all is arranged and appointed by the determinate counsel of God, that all was revealed and foretold; that they have been the subject of diligent inquiry and searching of the prophets, the heart of the apostolic preaching, and angelic study; to know that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!"

But also, what a warning to us all! That which prophets thought it worth their while to study by night and day, (though they knew that they should never see it), surely ought to be thought worthy of attention of those immediately concerned in it. If angels, these spotless and undefiled beings, marvel at the sacred fountain of blood by which sin is washed away and guilty sinners are reconciled to God, will not you, who are covered with defilement, stop a while to see the Lord, whose flowing veins afford such purging? Reader, has this gospel of our salvation drawn your attention? I think if I were to see an angel intently gazing upon an object, and I were a passer by, I would stop and look too. Have you never noticed in the street that if one person stands still and looks up, or is occupied with gazing into a shop window, others become curious and look also? Can anyone be careless where earth and heaven are in earnest? Can you still be sluggish and indifferent when prophets, apostles and angels, all beckon you to seek the Lord? Reader, come, pray that the eyes of your understanding being opened by the Spirit that you may know, as you have never known before, "what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints."