What is the meaning of 1 Peter 1:10-12? Why does Peter say the Spirit of Christ in the O.T. prophets pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, and that He was sent to die to save believers from sin? Is Peter using the O.T. scriptures correctly?

1 Peter 1:10-12 -- "Regarding this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace [of God] that was intended for you, searched carefully and inquired [about this future way of salvation], 11 seeking to find out what person or what time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories [destined] to follow."

Isaiah was one of such prophets. He prophesied about the sufferings of Christ (in Isaiah 53) and the glories that will follow (in Isaiah 54.) Isaiah 53 is where we get the popular verses:

4"Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by 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 has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Just to digress a little, the translation (NKJV) of "bruised" here doesn't really do justice to the original Hebrew text "Dakah" which means "crushed." Christ wasn't just "bruised." He was "crushed" for our iniquities. Also "Griefs" and "sorrows" connote mere feelings of sadness but it goes deeper than that. The two words were translated from the Hebrew words "Kholee" and "Makob" which mean "sickness" and "pain" respectively. The YLT translates it thus:

4 Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains -- He hath carried them, And we -- we have esteemed Him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted."

So many more promises for believers in Christ in these chapters. But let's focus on the one without which man cannot enter into the glories that follow Christ's suffering: Isaiah 53, which speaks of Christ's suffering for us, ends thus:

11 "When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied. And because of His experience, My righteous Servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for He will bear all their sins. 12 I will give Him the honors of a victorious soldier, because He exposed Himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels."

Notice verse 11? The NIRV says: "After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

To be righteous or godly is to be like God. All was "accomplished by His anguish" when Christ cried "Finished!" at the cross. Because of His anguish, His experience, His shed blood, His suffering, He has made it possible for many to be counted righteous/godly like God.

Christ suffered and died to make us godly aka “be like God.”

This truth is very crucial to our believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. A quick trip to Genesis 1:27 tells us how God made Adam and Eve:

"So God created human beings in His own likeness. He created them to be like Himself. He created them as male and female."

Adam and Eve were made in God's likeness. They were already “like God.” Then, along came Satan who subtly deceived Eve into believing that she was not like God and that there was something that she could do by her human effort/arm of flesh in order to “be like God." See the typology of the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many churchgoers are feeding off in their quest for godliness in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG)-

“Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me.”

As he did with Eve, Satan, through his ministers behind some church pulpits, is still trying to seduce many whom Christ suffered and died to make godly by shifting the focus of the flock from the truth of the finished work of Christ in making the sinner who believes godly- like God. Such peddle the same deceit of Satan which claims that a person can become godly (be like God) by human effort at keeping the law or doing anything at all. I heard this same subtle deceit for much of my church-attending years. It seemed good to Eve, as it seems good to many in the church today. Afterall, what is bad in doing one's best in order to be godly or get God's approval? But this seemingly right way is not God's Way. Rather, it is the way of death according to Proverbs 14:12-

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,

but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Dependence on the law (human effort at being godly like God) for even an iota of godliness is akin to Adam saying to God:

"Yes, I know that You made Eve and I in your likeness (like God) but we have to at least eat a bit of the tree that you asked me to not eat of in order to be godly like You."

Like believers today (although we have a better covenant,) Adam and Eve were already like God but Satan deceived them into striving to attain godliness by human effort (arm of flesh) through the use of the knowledge of good and evil- as he is deceiving many today. But God's word says “The arm of flesh will fail." We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have an even better covenant than Adam and Eve. We are children of the Almighty God, made godly aka like God through Christ's suffering and made to be joint heirs with Christ- a position that Adam and Eve did not have.

Believer, God Himself provided the Way for us to be godly like Himself. His Way has got nothing to do with that seemingly right but deathly way of dependence on human effort at keeping the law which gives the knowledge of good and evil and kills like the tree of the same name. Romans 10 says of those who follow this seemingly right way:

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.” Romans 10:1-5.

God's Way is solely through the Salvation (Yeshua in Hebrew/Jesus in English) that 1 Peter 1 says the prophets prophesied about -

10 "Regarding this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace [of God] that was intended for you, searched carefully and inquired [about this future way of salvation], 11 seeking to find out what person or what time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories [destined] to follow."

He is the Way whom the prophets, including Isaiah, prophesied about in Isaiah 53:11-

"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

Christ suffered and died to make us righteous like God (be like God). In Him, we are a new creation - created anew to be like God.

Satan, through his ministers promotes the seemingly good doctrine of striving for godliness and eternal life via human effort (law-keeping) in addition to Christ's finished work (Grace) of making the sinner who believes godly. This part-Law/part-Grace mixture is the “neither cold nor hot” that Christ speaks of in Revelation 3- it involves the selling of a watered-down version of the law that makes some think they can keep even a tittle of it and the presentation of God's saving Grace as some kind of supplement for human/arm of flesh-driven righteousnesses. The result: the severity of the law and the undeserved, unearned, unmerited nature of God's saving Grace are lost on those who follow their mixture doctrine. The law that they try to keep in order to be godly condemns and puts under the curse all who try (Galatians 3:10.) Such also miss out on receiving God's saving Grace that makes godly:

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace.” Galatians 5:4.

Satan and his pastors know all of this and so are actively going about trying to blind believers to the truth of our godliness in Christ as he did Eve; trying to cause many to fully or partially reject what God has made all who believe to be in Christ (godly like God) and pointing man to the law for the attainment of godliness that Christ died for us to freely have. Believer, by God's Grace, let's not fall for the same con of Satan.

Thought to clarify that whatever a person thinks he has to do by his human effort in order to be godly like God, get God's approval or in a bid to “not perish but have eternal life" is law. We are called to be doers of the word (of faith) and not doers of the law as many who try to twist James' teaching preach. Good works are evidences of salvation in Christ; not conditions.

“The letter (law) kills but the Spirit gives life" is a very popular Bible verse. With the Spirit of the Lord, it is neither by might nor by power. It is impossible for doers of works of thw law to deceive themselves in this matter:

if you knew and believed that it is Christ in you doing the works and not your own might and power, it would be difficult for you to point accusing fingers at others who are still struggling with sin and threaten them with judgment if they don't change. Rather, as Moses pointed the suffering Israelites to the bronze serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness, you would see how helpless man is to overcome the sting of death (sin nature) and its deathly symptoms (acts of sin that lead to death) as well as produce good works. You would point such to Christ who saves from sin and death and transforms the sinner who truly believes to live right, as you say He is doing for you.

If one's salvation depended on a hair's breadth of his self-manufactured righteousnesses from keeping the law (which are like a menstrual rag in God's sight according to Isaiah 64:6,) no one would be saved-

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace.” Galatians 5:4.

But when your believing is right, havig Christ as your utter Righteousness and Strength, right living will follow. You will bear much fruit (John 15:5.)

The result striving to attain godliness via human strength is still the same as it was since the time that Satan deceived Eve into following this false doctrine: sin has dominion--

“For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14

-and death reigns. See this in Romans 7:5-

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."

The one with the old/sin nature has the sin nature that Adam passed on to all of his descendants:

“By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.”

The one with the sin/old nature is not a new creation in Christ, made godly through Christ's suffering and not puny attempts at feeding on the law from which proceeds the knowledge of good and evil. He might profess Christ, but he does not believe that Christ's obedience is what makes believers righteous in God's sight. He strives to keep the law in order to be right with God. But the very law that he tries to obey in order to be godly aka “be like God" causes him to commit sins that lead to death profusely.

Believers, the spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. In fact, like the religious but antichrist Phatisees, its carriers preach strongly against sin, always act like they just had lunch with God and are always shouting the need for people to be godly from the rooftops. But just like the super-religious Pharisees whose lives were all about doing the seemingly good thing o the law in order to be godly yet hated Christ and sought to quell the message of His saving Grace; just like Satan when he deceived already-godly Eve into believing that she could be godly (be like God) by human striving at doing something, its own way for man to attain godliness (be like God) is through human striving at keeping the law which kills and gives the knowledge of good and evil, just like the tree of the same name.

Good. Righteous. Godly. These are all attributes of God. His word says: “There is none righteous…” His Word says: “There is none good but God.” But like Peter who fell flat on his face three times after falsely believing that he had some good in him and could do the righteous thing of obeying the Eighth Commandment “You shall not bear false witness…”, many churchgoers fancy themselves as being “good people” because of God's restraining hand which shields many from the vagaries of Time and Chance as well as Satan's sifting. God's word addressed this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

If God lifted off His restraining hand that restrains man from devolving into committing heinous sins and let many rely on human effort and will-power (arm of flesh) at keeping the law in order to be saved, godly or for whatever reason, like Peter, all would devolve into sins that they thought were beneath them and see how utterly lacking in good works man is of himself. We all need God's saving Grace to the same extent. Check out what Romans 5:9 says of believers' standing with God because of the finished work of Christ in making the sinner who believes righteous like God:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Notice that this justification/righteousness is in God's sight and not in the sight of man? In Christ, God sees us as righteous, “even though we are guilty of many sins.” See Romans 5:16-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.”

Antichrist pastors hear this truth and respond to God's saving Grace with responses such as:

“So because we are under Grace and the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue to commit sins with reckless abandon and produce no good deeds?”

But consider Christ's job description in Matthew 1:21-

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

How can one continue to live in sin when He has Grace Himself (Jesus Christ) who came to save us from every kind of sin as his Saviour? Let's take our blessed brains to church. God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Saviour from sins is Christ's job description. How on earth can you utterly believe in Jesus Christ as your Saviour from sins yet continue to live in sins/produce no good deeds? What does one need Christ for if one could be righteous by clenching one,’s teeth to overcome sins? Those verses expose those antichrist comments from even some pastors e.g. "You can't walk with God if you have sins" or "So you are saying once we are saved, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue to live in sin?”- as being utterly clueless about God's saving Grace. Such might profess Christ but do not believe Him - that He saves from sins; this is the definition of unbelief in Christ.

Always, behind such responses that promote being sinless by human effort is the hankering after self aka “I can produce good by myself” aka Pride in the arm of flesh. Always, behind such responses is the satanic doctrine that goads churchgoers into rejecting the godliness that Christ suffered and died for us to freely have and instead, trying to do the seemingly good thing of striving for godliness via human effort at keeping the law. This is an effort in futility (Romans 3:20) and the way to get cut off from Christ (Galatians 5:4) according to the word of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man's. This is the message of the cross - Righteousness by faith. Christ was lifted up on the cross for our salvation from ungodliness/unrighteousness. But many try to add terms and conditions to it. The Message is illogical to human reasoning:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18.

To trust in one's ability to be good/godly is what it means to "exalt themselves against the knowledge of God." God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, cannot help any attain righteousness and that there is no good in man of himself. See this in Paul's experience Romans 7:18-

"For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

But Satan through his ministers behind some pulpits preys on man's desire to be godly and his logical way of arriving at godliness: dependence the arm of flesh (human effort) that will fail at curbing sins and living a godly life. This deceit causes many to unwittingly exalt themselves against the knowledge of God by responding to His word in Romans 7:18 with:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I have some good in me to produce good and enough will-power to keep the Law."

Reminds one of Peter who believed that Christ was wrong concerning the issue of his then upcoming denials. Beloved of God, lets not be found here. There is no good in man of himself. Christ is our godliness/righteousness. He is our salvation from sins. Without Him, there is no salvation from sins. And our contribution to this salvation is zero. Only believe. To such who peddle that antichrist lie that says God will turn you away for the same sins that He sacrificed His own Son to save us from, we ask:

"How does having cancer (sins) disqualify the sick (helpless sinner) from freely receiving treatment (salvation from sins) from the best Oncologist ever who just happens to be his own Father who loves him eternally?"

Let's take our blessed brains to church and by God's grace, flee from antichrist pastors who preach that same false doctrine that Satan preached to Eve in Eden:- that one can be sinless/godly aka be like God by human effort (arm of flesh) at doing something e.g. curb sins. Christ suffered and died to make us godly. The arm of flesh (human effort at keeping the law in order to be godly) will fail and when it does, those suppressed sins will burst forth in a volcanic eruption of sinful deeds that lead to death.

Christ suffered and died to make us godly/righteous. This is God's Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. Only by receiving God's abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ do we get to live in triumph over sin and death-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17.

Right believing always produces right living