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The Fisherman-Theologian

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February 7, 2022

1 Peter 1:2 NIV

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

CONSIDER THIS

Peter, the fisherman, uneducated and unlearned, has written one of the most significant documents in the history of the World in his two letters. We are thirty years after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter is likely somewhere between fifty and sixty years of age (approaching his prime in God’s Kingdom.)

Peter, in the span of one sentence, and his first no less, is already articulating a full blown trinitarian theology. He’s a fisherman for crying out loud! And that’s the point. It’s time to take back theology from the theologians. Theology belongs to everyone, and in fact, everyone is a theologian in one sense or another. We are all “doing” theology.

Back to v.2: Some believe the whole concept of the Trinity was developed much later in Christian history and is in fact not biblical, since the word Trinity never appears in the Bible. We need only look at the second verse of Peter’s first letter to see how the understanding and experience of God as Trinity developed rapidly, beginning on the Day of Pentecost. Developed is the wrong word. Revealed is the proper term. Behold the triune grammar here: 

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all in the same sentence and this is one of many examples across the New Testament. Fishermen don’t write theoretical treatises for academic speculation. Fishermen write revealed doctrine which turns out to be breaming, even overflowing with brilliant words, filled with divine grace and truth. 

And yes, this second verse turns out to be even more loaded than the first one. 

In this little verse we not only get the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but Peter opens the door to the first and second half of the gospel. We get to deal with foreknowledge, sanctification, obedience, and yes the blood of Jesus. And to think I just skimmed past all this thinking I already knew it all every other time I read it in the past. 

Peter, the Fisherman, had a heart and mind somehow postured to receive revelation. He was the first to really “get” who Jesus was. Remember this famous exchange?

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Matthew 16:15-17

Peter got revelation. Yep, I think this Fisherman will teach us a thing or two about theology before we are done. With any luck, he will teach us a thing or two about fishing. 

THE PRAYER

Jesus, you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Thank you for Peter, who shows us a very ordinary person who understands what revelation is and how it works; how it requires a humility laden with boldness. I confess I have read his words for years and not given much thought to his person, which shows us he doesn’t point to himself but you. Holy Spirit, teach us through this example of how to be this kind of witness. How can we be ourselves without being about ourselves? Praying in Jesus’ name, Amen.

THE QUESTION

Did you ever realize how much is in this first verse (1 sentence) of 1 Peter? What does this reveal to us about the nature of revelation and how to perceive it? Have you ever thought of yourself as a theologian? It’s about time isn’t it. 

For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com

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WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

Comments and Discussion

2 Responses

  1. J D, just when I think this series can’t get any better, this voice of the Spirit speaking through you, reveals it can. Yes, it is possible to read the Word many times and never mine all there is to receive. Might this gift of grace given through Peter’s epistles, be an example of Peter’s response to Jesus’s command to him to “feed my sheep “ ? (John 21:17)

  2. Any Christ-follower can fish in rivers of living water as the Holy Spirit flows from within and catch fresh revelation, spiritual fruit, and spiritual gifts galore. Instead of listening to Christ in us, tradition has taught us to depend on outward sources for our theology. We’ve mostly abandoned personal revelation for hand-me down religious information. Think how rich it would be if a group of Christians would meet to listen to the living Jesus and then share what He tells them with one another. Our revelation boat would overflow with faith-filled fish!

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