Three Steps in a Sinner’s Salvation

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During 1918 a fourteen year old boy called Simon Drake living on a farm with his widowed mother in the East of England, was visited by an angel and called by God to shows God's love and compassion to a needy world. That started a great adventure with the power of God shown to people with amazing healing.

1 Peter 1:1-2

Three Steps in a Sinner’s Salvation (1Pe_1:1-2)
Verse 1
THE inspired writer of this letter, whose original name was Simon, received the Aramaic name of Cephas as a descriptive title of what he would some day be like (John_1:42). The A. V. translates, "Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone." The word "stone" is from the Greek word petros which means "a detached but large fragment of rock," and is used here metaphorically to describe Peter as a man like a rock by reason of his firmness and strength of soul. The name "Peter" is the English spelling of the Greek petros which is the word chosen by the Holy Spirit that would adequately translate the meaning of the Aramaic "Cephas." In answering Peter’s great confession of His deity, the Lord Jesus says, "Thou art Peter (petros), and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church" (Mat_16:18). Thayer quotes Schmidt as treating petros and petra as synonyms, petros meaning "a detached but large fragment of rock," petra "the massive living rock." The foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ is that massive living rock, the Son of God seen in His deity, acknowledged as such by Peter. Peter is but a fragment of that massive rock in the sense in which he speaks of believers as "lively stones," deriving their eternal life from the great Living Stone Himself (1Pe_2:4-5.) It was the fullness of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that transformed Simon into Peter, the Rock-Man.
He designates himself as an apostle, the word "apostle" coming from apostolos made up of apo, "off," and stello, "to send," a technical word used of one sent from someone else with credentials on a mission. Peter was an ambassador of Jesus Christ sent by Him with credentials in the form of miracles, and on a mission, that of proclaiming the good news of salvation. Those to whom he writes, he designates as strangers. The English word "strangers" refers to anyone with whom we are not acquainted. But the Greek word means far more than that. It is parepidemois, made up of para, "alongside of," epi, "upon," and demos, used in Biblical Greek of the people of a heathen city. The word here describes the recipients of this letter as Christians who have settled down alongside of the unsaved. Peter uses the same word in 1Pe_2:11. He will not let us forget that we are living among the unsaved who are always carefully observing us.
The word "scattered" is from diasporas. This word is found in the LXX where Moses says of Israel, "Thou shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth" (Deu_28:25), and is probably the earliest example of its use as a technical designation of the JJohn_7:35 ews who for whatever reason lived outside of Palestine. The word is used in and Jas_1:1, in both places referring to those Jews who were living outside of Palestine. Peter uses it in the same way. We thus see that the recipients of this letter were Christian Jews. These Jews were living among the Gentiles in the various provinces named by Peter, all of which were in Asia Minor.
The word diaspora is the noun form of diaspeiro, which verb is made up of dia, "through" and speiro, "to sow, to scatter seed," which latter is the derivative from which sperma the Greek word for "seed" comes. This scattering of these Jews referred to in First Peter took place previous to the world-wide dispersion, A.D. 70, which latter was the judgment of God upon the apostasy of Israel. The great majority of the Jews living outside of Palestine in the first century and before A.D. 70. were living where they were by their own choice, the chief reason being the opportunity for business activity which the Gentile centers of population afforded. There they were when the Christian missionaries contacted them. There they had been providentially sown by the great Sower, to become themselves disseminators of the gospel story. The application can be made to all Christians. We who are saved, are providentially placed by God in the midst of the unsaved, living in Satan’s territory, for he is the god of the world system, to win those among whom we have been placed, to the Lord Jesus.
Verse 2
The recipients of this letter are called "elect." The word is eklektois, a plural adjective from the verb eklego which means "to pick out" or "to select out of a number." The verb is used in Eph_1:4 where it is rendered "chosen," referring to the act of God in sovereign grace choosing out certain from among mankind for Himself, the verb in Ephesians being middle in voice, speaking of the subject acting in his own interest. These to whom Peter is writing are "selected out ones." The words "according to" are the translation of kata whose root meaning is "down," which gives the idea of domination. This choice out from a number was dominated by the foreknowledge of God the Father. This is the first step in the act of God bringing a sinner into the place of salvation. God the Father chooses him out, this choice being dominated or controlled or determined by His foreknowledge.
The word "foreknowledge" is the translation of the noun prognosin which is found twice in the New Testament, its verb form proginosko, five times. In Act_26:5 and 2Pe_3:17 we have the purely classical meaning of the verb, namely, "previous knowledge." But in Act_2:23, and 1Pe_1:2, the meaning of the noun form, and in Rom_8:29; Rom_11:2, and 1Pe_1:20, the meaning of the verb form, goes beyond the purely classical meaning of the possession of previous knowledge, and refers to that which the A.V. in 1Pe_1:20 calls foreordination. The first time the noun form prognosin is found is in Act_2:23, where it is used in the clause, "him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." The words "counsel" and "foreknowledge" are in a Greek construction which makes both words refer here to the same act, presenting that act in its two aspects. The content of meaning in the word "foreknowledge" here is made clear therefore by the words "the determinate counsel." The meaning of "foreknowledge" here and in the other four places where the words "foreknew" and "foreknowledge" occur, cannot be merely "previous knowledge." The Greek word "counsel," boule, refers to an interchange of opinions, a mutual advising, the exchange of deliberative judgment. The word "determinate" is the translation of horismenei, a perfect participle which refers to the past act of putting limits upon something with the present result that some certain thing has been appointed or decreed. The word "foreknowledge" therefore refers to that counsel of God in which after deliberative judgment, the Lord Jesus was to be delivered into human hands to be crucified. In 1Pe_1:20, He is the One who was foreordained before the foundation of the world to be the Lamb who was to take away the sins of lost humanity. Thus, in 1Pe_1:2, the word "foreknowledge" refers to that counsel of God in which after deliberative judgment certain from among mankind were designated to a certain position, that position being defined by the context.
The second step in the salvation of a sinner is seen in the words "through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience." The Greek makes it clear that it is the Holy Spirit who does the sanctifying. The Greek word "sanctify" means "to set apart." The word "through" is the translation of en, which means literally "in." The whole phrase is in a grammatical classification known as the locative of sphere. It was in the sphere of the setting apart work of the Spirit that the sinner was chosen. That is, God the Father chose the sinner out from among mankind to be the recipient of the setting-apart work of the Spirit, in which work the Holy Spirit sets the sinner apart from his unbelief to the act of faith in the Lord Jesus. The act of faith is spoken of here by the word "obedience," which is not the obedience of the saint, but that of the sinner to the Faith, for this act is answered by his being cleansed in the precious blood of Jesus. In Act_6:7 we read that "a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Thus, the second step in the salvation of a sinner is taken by the Holy Spirit who brings the one chosen to the act of faith in the Lord Jesus as Saviour.
This is followed by the third step in which God the Son cleanses that believing sinner in His precious blood. This is given us in the words "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ," Peter using the phraseology and typology of the Levitical ritual where the priest sprinkled the people with the sacrificial blood (Heb_9:19).
We have therefore the three steps taken by the three Persons of the Triune God. God the Father chooses the sinner to salvation. God the Spirit brings the sinner thus chosen to the act of faith. God the Son cleanses him in His precious blood. Perhaps someone may read these lines who is not saved. Your question is, "How can 1 know whether 1 am one of those whom God has chosen?" The answer is simple. Put your faith in the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, the One who died on the Cross in your stead to make atonement for your sins, and God will save you. You will find that God the Father chose you for salvation, God the Spirit brought you to the act of faith, and God the Son cleansed you from your sin.
The Greek word "grace" is so rich in its meaning that the reader is referred to the author’s other books for a study of its classical and New Testament meanings, where it is fully treated. Here the word refers to the enabling grace for daily Christian living which is given to the saint yielded to and dependent upon the Holy Spirit. The peace spoken of here is not justifying peace, but peace of heart produced by the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Spirit-filled saint.

Fuller Translation

(1) Peter, an ambassador of Jesus Christ, to those who have settled down alongside of the native pagan population, scattered as seed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 
(2) chosen-out ones, this choice having been determined by the fore-ordination of God the Father, those chosen out to be recipients of the setting-apart work of the Spirit resulting in obedience (of faith) and (thus) in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace (be) to you, and (heart) peace be multiplied.