📖 1 Petro — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 2: Tumaini Lenye Uzima na Imani Iliyosafishwa📖 1 Peter Intensive — Unit 2: Living Hope and Refined Faith

Andiko: 1 Petro 1:3-12Text: 1 Peter 1:3-12

Kuzaliwa Mara ya Pili kwa Tumaini Lenye UzimaBorn Again to a Living Hope

Baada ya kulieleza kanisa lililotawanyika wao ni nani, sasa Petro analipuka kwa sifa: "Ahimidiwe Mungu, Baba wa Bwana wetu Yesu Kristo." Kwa nini sifa kama hizi? Kwa sababu ya kile Mungu amewatendea. Kwa rehema Zake nyingi, alituzaa mara ya pili — ametupa kuzaliwa kwa pili — kwa tumaini lenye uzima. Mazingira ya kuzaliwa upya ni chumba cha kujifungulia. Kama Bwana alivyomwambia Nikodemo, "Mtu asipozaliwa mara ya pili, hawezi kuuona ufalme wa Mungu" (Yohana 3:3). Kuzaliwa kwa kwanza ni kwa mwili; kwa pili ni kwa Roho. Na tumaini ambalo kuzaliwa huku upya kunazaa si tamaa wala kubahatisha. Ni tumaini lenye uzima, kwa sababu linasimama juu ya ukweli ulio hai: kufufuka kwa Yesu Kristo katika wafu. Kristo amefufuka, na kwa hiyo tumaini la mwamini haliwezi kamwe kufa hatimaye.Having told the scattered church who they are, Peter now bursts into praise: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Why such praise? Because of what God has done for them. According to His abundant mercy, He has begotten us again — given us a second birth — into a living hope. The setting of the new birth is a maternity room. As the Lord told Nicodemus, "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). The first birth is of the flesh; the second is of the Spirit. And the hope this new birth produces is not a wish or a guess. It is a living hope, because it stands on a living fact: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Christ is risen, and so the believer's hope can never finally die.

Inasaidia kuona kwamba Biblia inazungumza juu ya wokovu katika nyakati tatu. Katika wakati uliopita, nimeokolewa — wakati ule nilipokuja kwa Kristo mara ya kwanza. Katika wakati uliopo, ninaokolewa — Mungu sasa ananifanya kuwa mtakatifu. Na katika wakati ujao, nitaokolewa — siku moja nitafanywa kufanana na Kristo Mwenyewe. Kifungu hiki chote kinapita katika nyakati hizo tatu, na somo litazifuata: kuzaliwa upya, kukua, na utukufu ujao.It helps to see that the Bible speaks of salvation in three tenses. In the past, I have been saved — the moment I first came to Christ. In the present, I am being saved — God is now making me holy. And in the future, I will be saved — one day I shall be made like Christ Himself. This whole passage moves through those three tenses, and the lesson will follow them: the new birth, the growth, and the glory yet to come.

Picha Tano za Kuzaliwa UpyaFive Pictures of the New Birth

Maandiko ni tajiri sana hata yanatupa zaidi ya picha moja ya kile kilichotokea tulipozaliwa mara ya pili. Kila moja inatoka katika pembe tofauti ya maisha, na kila moja inaonyesha upande mwingine wa uokoaji ule ule mkuu.Scripture is so rich that it gives us more than one picture for what happened when we were born again. Each comes from a different corner of life, and each shows another side of the same great rescue.

Kuzaliwa upya — mazingira ni chumba cha kujifungulia. Tunazaliwa mara ya pili, kwa Roho (Yohana 3:3). Kupatanishwa — mazingira ni ndoa, au hasa ndoa iliyovunjika ikiponywa. "Mungu alikuwa ndani ya Kristo, akiupatanisha ulimwengu na nafsi yake" (2 Wakorintho 5:19). Mungu hajawahi kuwa nje ya mpangilio nasi; sisi ndio tuko nje ya mpangilio Naye, nasi tunahitaji kurudishwa. Ukombozi — mazingira ni soko la watumwa. Sisi ni watumwa wa dhambi, na Kristo anaingilia kati na kulipa gharama; sisi "tunahesabiwa haki bure kwa neema yake, kwa njia ya ukombozi ulio katika Kristo Yesu" (Warumi 3:24). Kuhesabiwa haki — mazingira ni mahakama. Tumetenda kosa; Mungu ndiye Hakimu, na ndani ya Kristo anamtangaza mwenye hatia kuwa "hana hatia" (Warumi 4:5). Kuongoka — mazingira ni barabara kuu. Tunasafiri upande mmoja; tunasimama, tunaona kwamba tunaenda njia isiyo sahihi, tunageuka, na tunaenda njia nyingine. Ni Sauli katika njia ya kwenda Dameski: "Tubuni basi, mrejee, ili dhambi zenu zifutwe" (Matendo 3:19). Picha tano, kuzaliwa upya kumoja.New birth — the setting is the maternity room. We are born a second time, of the Spirit (John 3:3). Reconciliation — the setting is a marriage, or more exactly a broken one being healed. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19). God is never out of alignment with us; we are out of alignment with Him, and we need to be brought back. Redemption — the setting is the slave market. We are slaves to sin, and Christ steps in and pays the price; we are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Justification — the setting is the courtroom. We have committed an offense; God is the Judge, and in Christ He declares the guilty "not guilty" (Romans 4:5). Conversion — the setting is a highway. We are traveling in one direction; we stop, see that we are going the wrong way, turn, and go another. It is Saul on the road to Damascus: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19). Five pictures, one new birth.

Urithi Uliowekwa MbinguniAn Inheritance Reserved in Heaven

Kuzaliwa upya kunaleta urithi, na Petro anarundika maneno kuueleza (mst. 4-5). Ni usioharibika — hauwezi kuoza wala kuharibika. Ni usio na uchafu — hakuna kitu kinachoweza kuutia doa wala kuuharibu. Ni usionyauka — tofauti na maua ya ulimwengu huu, haupotezi kamwe utukufu wake. Na ni uliowekwa mbinguni kwa ajili ya mwamini, ukilindwa salama mbali kabisa na nondo, kutu, au mwizi. Kwa kanisa linalokabili hasara na mateso, hii ni habari njema ya ajabu: chochote ulimwengu unachowanyang'anya hapa, urithi wao wa kweli hauguswi, umewekwa mahali ambapo adui hawezi kufika. Na si urithi tu unaolindwa kwa ajili yao; wao wanalindwa kwa ajili yake. Wao "mnalindwa na nguvu za Mungu kwa njia ya imani hata mpate wokovu ulio tayari kufunuliwa wakati wa mwisho." Mungu yule yule anayelinda urithi mbinguni anawalinda warithi duniani. Usalama wao hautegemei nguvu zao wenyewe, bali nguvu Zake.The new birth brings an inheritance, and Peter piles up words to describe it (vv. 4-5). It is incorruptible — it cannot rot or decay. It is undefiled — nothing can stain or spoil it. It does not fade away — unlike the flowers of this world, it never loses its glory. And it is reserved in heaven for the believer, kept safe far beyond the reach of moth, rust, or thief. To a church facing loss and persecution, this is wonderful news: whatever the world strips from them here, their true inheritance is untouchable, laid up where no enemy can come. And not only is the inheritance kept for them; they are kept for it. They "are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." The same God who guards the inheritance in heaven guards the heirs on earth. Their security does not rest on their own strength, but on His power.

Imani Iliyosafishwa Kama DhahabuFaith Refined Like Gold

Petro hajifanyi kwamba njia ni rahisi. Kwa kitambo kidogo, anasema, waumini wamehuzunishwa kwa majaribu ya namna nyingi. Lakini anayaweka majaribu hayo katika nuru ya kushangaza. Moto hutiwa juu ya dhahabu si ili kuiangamiza bali ili kuisafisha — kuchoma kilicho cha uongo na kuacha madini safi nyuma. Ndivyo ilivyo kwa imani. Majaribu ni tanuru, nayo yanathibitisha imani ya waumini kuwa ya kweli, dhahabu halisi na si bandia. Na Petro anasema imani hii iliyojaribiwa ina thamani kubwa zaidi kuliko dhahabu, kwa maana dhahabu inapotea na imani haipotei. Kristo atakapofunuliwa siku ya mwisho, imani iliyopita motoni itaonekana kuwa "kwa sifa na utukufu na heshima." Hiki ndicho kiini cha barua yote kama mbegu: mateso si adui wa imani bali ni tanuru inayoisafisha.Peter does not pretend the road is easy. For a little while, he says, the believers have been grieved by various trials. But he sets those trials in a surprising light. Fire is poured over gold not to destroy it but to purify it — to burn away what is false and leave the pure metal behind. So it is with faith. The trials are the furnace, and they prove the believers' faith to be genuine, real gold and not counterfeit. And Peter says this tested faith is worth far more than gold, for gold perishes and faith does not. When Christ is revealed at the last day, a faith that has come through the fire will be found "to praise, honor, and glory." This is the heart of the whole letter in seed: suffering is not the enemy of faith but the furnace that refines it.

Kumpenda Kristo Ambaye HamjamwonaLoving the Christ You Have Not Seen

Kisha Petro anasema jambo la upole kuhusu waumini hawa (mst. 8-9). Hawakuwa wamemwona Yesu kwa macho, kama Petro alivyomwona. "Naye mwampenda ingawa hamjamwona; ingawa hamumwoni sasa, mnamwamini, na kufurahi kwa furaha isiyoneneka, yenye utukufu." Hapa kuna ajabu ya imani ya kweli: inampenda Kristo ambaye haijawahi kumwona, na inafurika kwa furaha iliyo ya kina mno kuelezeka kwa maneno. Na imani hii inaelekea mahali fulani. Ni "kuupokea mwisho wa imani yenu, yaani, wokovu wa roho zenu." Neno mwisho linamaanisha lengo, matokeo. Kuamini huku kote na kupenda huku si bure; kunafikia kuokolewa kwa roho, jambo lile lile ambalo Mungu alikusudia tangu mwanzo.Then Peter says a tender thing about these believers (vv. 8-9). They had never laid eyes on Jesus, as Peter had. "Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." Here is the wonder of true faith: it loves a Christ it has never seen, and it overflows with a joy too deep for words. And this faith is going somewhere. It is "receiving the end of your faith — the salvation of your souls." The word end means the goal, the outcome. All this believing and loving is not in vain; it arrives at the saving of the soul, the very thing God intended from the start.

Kufanywa WatakatifuBeing Made Holy

Hapa tunakutana na wakati uliopo wa wokovu: ninaokolewa. Utakaso ni mchakato wa kufanywa mtakatifu, wa kuwa zaidi na zaidi kama Kristo. Petro atalisema waziwazi mistari michache baadaye: "Mtakuwa watakatifu kwa kuwa mimi ni mtakatifu" (1 Petro 1:16). Sasa kuna mizani ya kushika hapa. Paulo anaandika, "utimizeni wokovu wenu kwa kuogopa na kutetemeka" (Wafilipi 2:12). Ni wazi hatuwezi kutimiza kuongoka kwetu — hicho ni kipawa cha Mungu, "kwa maana mmeokolewa kwa neema, kwa njia ya imani; ambayo hiyo haikutokana na nafsi zenu... wala si kwa matendo, mtu awaye yote asije akajisifu" (Waefeso 2:8-9). Hakuna anayezaliwa mara ya pili kwa kujitahidi sana. Lakini tukishakuwa mali Yake, tunaweza na tunapaswa kutimiza utakatifu ambao ameuweka ndani yetu, tukikua siku kwa siku katika mfano wa Bwana wetu. Kuzaliwa upya ni kazi ya Mungu; kukua ni kazi ya furaha ya mwamini chini ya neema.Here we meet the present tense of salvation: I am being saved. Sanctification is the process of being made holy, of becoming more and more like Christ. Peter will say it plainly a few verses on: "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). Now there is a balance to keep here. Paul writes, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). We obviously cannot work out our conversion — that is God's gift, "by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves... not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one is born again by trying hard. But once we are His, we can and must work out the holiness He has put within, growing day by day into the likeness of our Lord. The new birth is God's doing; the growing is the believer's glad labor under grace.

Yale Ambayo Manabii Waliyatafuta na Malaika Wanatamani KuyachunguliaWhat Prophets Sought and Angels Long to See

Petro anamalizia aya hii kuu kwa kuinua macho yetu kuuona ukuu kamili wa wokovu tuliopewa (mst. 10-12). Manabii wa kale, anasema, walitafuta na kuchunguza kwa bidii habari za wokovu huu. Roho wa Kristo alikuwa ndani yao, akishuhudia tangu zamani "mateso yatakayompata Kristo, na utukufu utakaokuwa baada ya hayo." Walijitahidi kuelewa kile walichokuwa wakiandika, nao wakafunuliwa kwamba hawakuwa wakijihudumia wenyewe bali sisi — walikuwa wakiweka akiba ya hazina kwa ajili ya kizazi ambacho hawangekiona kamwe. Kisha Petro anaongeza mstari wenye kushangaza kuliko yote: haya ni "mambo hayo ambayo malaika wanatamani kuyachungulia." Wokovu ambao kanisa lililotawanyika na linaloteseka unashika mikononi mwake ni mkuu kiasi kwamba manabii walitamani kuushika, na malaika wenyewe wa mbinguni wanainama kuutazama kwa mshangao. Kile ambacho waumini wanaweza kujaribiwa kukichukulia kuwa jambo la kawaida, mbingu inakihesabu kuwa ajabu.Peter ends this great paragraph by lifting our eyes to the sheer grandeur of the salvation we have been given (vv. 10-12). The prophets of old, he says, searched and inquired carefully about this salvation. The Spirit of Christ was in them, testifying beforehand "the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow." They strained to understand what they were writing, and it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but us — they were laying up treasure for a generation they would never see. And then Peter adds the most striking line of all: these are "things which angels desire to look into." The salvation the scattered, suffering church holds in its hands is so great that the prophets longed to grasp it and the very angels of heaven lean over to gaze at it in wonder. What the believers may be tempted to take for granted, heaven counts a marvel.

Utukufu UjaoGlory Yet to Come

Mwisho, wakati ujao: nitaokolewa. Huku ni kutukuzwa, hatua ya mwisho, wakati kazi ambayo Mungu aliianza inakamilika na mwamini anafanywa kufanana na Kristo. Paulo anafuatilia mnyororo usiokatika: "Na wale aliowachagua tangu asili, hao akawaita; na wale aliowaita, hao akawahesabia haki; na wale aliowahesabia haki, hao akawatukuza" (Warumi 8:30). Na Yohana anatupa tumaini lenyewe: "Wapenzi, sasa tu wana wa Mungu, wala haijadhihirika bado tutakavyokuwa; lakini twajua ya kuwa atakapodhihirishwa, tutafanana naye; kwa kuwa tutamwona kama alivyo" (1 Yohana 3:2). Huu ndio "wokovu ulio tayari kufunuliwa wakati wa mwisho" ambao Petro aliutaja nyuma katika mstari wa 5. Tumaini lenye uzima lililozaliwa ndani yetu wakati wa kuzaliwa upya halitatuaibisha; linaishia katika utukufu. Kwa hiyo kanisa lililozungukwa na majaribu limetiwa nanga katika kila upande — limezaliwa mara ya pili katika wakati uliopita, linalindwa na kufanywa takatifu katika wakati uliopo, na linaelekea utukufu katika wakati ujao.Finally the future tense: I will be saved. This is glorification, the last stage, when the work God began is finished and the believer is made like Christ. Paul traces the unbroken chain: "Whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:30). And John gives us the hope itself: "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). This is the "salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" that Peter named back in verse 5. The living hope born in us at the new birth will not disappoint; it ends in glory. So a church surrounded by trial is anchored at every point — born again in the past, kept and made holy in the present, and bound for glory in the time to come.

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