1 Peter Chapter 1, Verse 12
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12: οις απεκαλυφθη οτι ουχ εαυτοις ημιν δε διηκονουν αυτα α νυν ανηγγελη υμιν δια των ευαγγελισαμενων υμας εν πνευματι αγιω αποσταλεντι απ ουρανου εις α επιθυμουσιν αγγελοι παρακυψαι
12: Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto
us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto
you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels
desire to look into.
12: To whom it was revealed that, not to themselves but to you, they
ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that have
preached the gospel to you: the Holy Ghost being sent down from heaven,
on whom the angels desire to look.
Unto whom it was revealed. They were not permitted to know fully the import of the predictions which they were made the instruments of communicating to mankind, but they understood that they were intended for the benefit of future ages. That not unto themselves. We are not to suppose that they derived no benefit from their own predictions; for, as far as they understood the truth, it was as much adapted to sanctify and comfort them as it is us now: but the meaning is, that their messages had reference mainly to future times, and that the full benefit of them would be experienced only in distant ages. see "Heb 11:39, Heb 11:40".
Unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you. Not unto us by name, but their ministrations had reference to the times of the Messiah; and those to whom Peter wrote, in common with all Christians, were those who were to enjoy the fruits of the communications which they made. The word reported means announced, or made known. By them that have preached the gospel unto you. The apostles, who have made known unto you, in their true sense, the things which the prophets predicted, the import of which they themselves were so desirous of understanding.
With the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Accompanied by the influences of the Holy Ghost bearing those truths to tile heart, and confirming them to the soul. It was the same Spirit which inspired the prophets which conveyed those truths to the souls of the early Christians, and which discloses them to true believers in every age. Comp. Jn 16:13, Jn 16:14 Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44, Acts 10:45.
The object of Peter by thus referring to the prophets, and to the interest which they took in the things which those to whom he wrote now enjoyed, seems to have been, to impress on them a deep sense of the value of the gospel, and of the great privileges which they enjoyed. They were reaping the benefit of all the labours of the prophets. They were permitted to see truth clearly, which the prophets themselves saw only obscurely. They were, in many respects, more favoured than even those holy men had been. It was for them that the prophets had spoken the word of the Lord; for them and their salvation that a long line of the most holy men that the world ever saw, had lived, and toiled, and suffered; and while they themselves had not been allowed to understand the full import of their own predictions, the most humble believer was permitted to see what the most distinguished prophet never saw. See Mt 13:17.
Which things the angels desire to look into. The object of this reference to the angels is the same as that to the prophets. It is to impress on Christians a sense of the value of that gospel which they had received, and to show them the greatness of their privileges in being, made partakers of it. It had excited the deepest interest among the most holy men on earth, and even among the inhabitants of the skies. They were enjoying the full revelation of what even the angels had desired more fully to understand, and to comprehend which they had employed their great powers of investigation. The things which are here referred to, eiv a -unto which, are those which the prophets were so desirous to understand -- the great truths respecting the sufferings of Christ, the glory which would follow, and the nature and effects of the gospel. In all the events pertaining to the redemption of a world they felt a deep interest. The word which is rendered "to look," (parakuqai,) is rendered stooping down, and stooped down, in Lk 24:12 Jn 20:5, Jn 20:11; looketh, in Jam 1:25; and look, in the place before us. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It properly means, to stoop down near by anything; to bend forward near, in order to look at anything more closely. -- Robinson, Lex. It would denote that state where one, who was before at so great a distance that he could not dearly see an object, should draw nearer, stooping down in order that he might observe it more distinctly. It is possible, as Grotius supposes, that there may be an allusion here to the posture of the cherubim over the mercy-seat, represented as looking down with an intense gaze, as if to behold what was in the ark. But it is not necessary to suppose that this is the allusion, nor is it absolutely certain that that was the posture of the cherubim. see "Heb 9:5".
All that is necessarily implied in the language is, that the angels had an intense desire to look into these things; that they contemplated them with interest and fixed attention, like one who comes near to an object, and looks narrowly upon it.
- "not unto themselves" Heb 11:39, Heb 11:40
- "Holy Ghost" Acts 2:4 2Cor 1:22
- "Ghost" "Spirit"
- "angels" Eph 3:10
