In the opening thoughts of his first epistle (1 Peter 1.3-12), Peter outlines the reality of life in light of the gospel.  A brief summary of these first few verses, and in fact the whole letter, would be as follows:  The normal Christian life is a life of exile and longing with your eyes fixed on Christ in whom you have been born again to a living hope.  The last few verses (vv10-12) of this opening section ground the Christian’s hope in Jesus Christ, not only as a first century AD reality, but also as the fulfillment of the promises of grace heralded by the Old Testament prophets.

Peter writes, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look” (1 Peter 1.10-12, ESV).

Consider three points from this passage.  First, there is one Spirit at work in Old and New Testament times.  The Spirit of Christ was at work revealing to the prophets what they were to preach and write.  The Holy Spirit was at work in those evangelists who preached the good news to Peter’s readers.  We understand the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit to be synonymous when we consider that Peter referred to the agent of the Old Testament revelation as the Holy Spirit in 2 Peter 1.16-21

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.  And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1.16-21, ESV).

Second, one Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament.  The Spirit of Christ was at work indicating to the prophets the sufferings and glories of the Christ.  We know from the gospels and epistles of the New Testament that it was the Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament, who was the subject of the evangelists preaching.  Consider Colossians 1.24-28.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ (Colossians 1.24-28, ESV).

Third, because there is one and the same Spirit at work in the prophets and evangelists and because the subject of their proclamations is one and the same Christ then it becomes clear that there is one message of redemption from the Old Testament to the New Testament.  Of course, what is revealed in the Old Testament is in shadow form and what is revealed in the New Testament is in Technicolor, but the Old and New Testaments are no less one story of God working out the redemption of his people in history.

When we see that there is in fact one Spirit, one Christ, and one Message consistent throughout the Old and New Testaments we begin to understand the depth of the claim that our God is a God of steadfast love and covenant faithfulness.  The covenant keeping God of the Old Testament to whom the Israelites turned for comfort in their time of exile is the same covenant keeping God to whom we turn as we struggle between two worlds.  Our God is faithful!  When the world fails us, which it will, we can know that our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.