Peter writes to the churches who established themselves after the resurrection of Jesus as people devoted to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

That gospel, Peter writes, is based on: new hope (1 Peter 1:3) new life (1 Peter 1:3) and God’s great mercy (1 Peter 1:3). 

Because Jesus sacrificed his life and then God raised him back to life from the dead, believers in this gospel have “an inheritance that can never perish, can never spoil and can never fade (1 Peter 1:4), (1 Peter 1:9). 

‘Even though we “suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6) our faith in the salvation Jesus has given is of greater worth than riches. 

“For all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25, Isaiah 40:6-8). 

Jesus’ faith was tested before preaching the gospel. 

Before Jesus began preaching about the kingdom of God, that acceptance is not through works but through the sacrifice that he would make and to repent of your own ability to do works to please God, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness to fast and pray and seek God and to be tested. 

Matthew Chapter 4 says that after he had been seeking the face of God, meaning he was only focused on God’s word and revelations from God and praying that God’s will and word would be fulfilled through him, Matthew 4:2 says that Jesus was hungry, not for food but to see the word of God fulfilled through his life, but he may have also been physically weak. 

Matthew 4:3 says that his faith, in who he was and who God was, was tested. He had the temptation to prove to himself that he was the Son of God by turning stones into physical nourishment. 

However, because he was filled with the Spirit of God and led by Spirit of God (Matthew 4:1), the Spirit of God reminded him the word of God in Deuteronomy 8:3 that said to him, remember that it is not food that gives you nourishment alone or that causes you to live, my word is what has kept you and will continue to keep you and cause you to live and others to live through the ministry of your sacrifice (Deuteronomy 8:3). 

Then as Jesus was in the wilderness, away from people, he found himself taken by the devil (and this word devil means the accuser) to the top of a mountain. The accuser came and accused Jesus of being a liar and asked Jesus if he really believed that he was who he said he was, the Son of God, and that if he was who he said he was, test God and make him prove his love for you, throw yourself from this high point, because God’s word says that he will lift you up so that you will not fall (Psalms 91:11,12).

The accuser (1) did not believe the word of God that God would send himself as deliverer and (2) he was saying if your word is true prove your word because your word says this about you. 

And the Spirit of God that was in Jesus and had been leading Jesus reminded the accuser that God does not need to prove himself, Jesus’ ministry would be built on faith (Deuteronomy 6:16). 

Then the accuser tried to accuse God of not keeping his promises by reminding Jesus about the word of God, to test Jesus’ faith, he said, didn’t God say that all kingdoms will bow down to you? How do you know that God will do it? I have power over all the kingdoms of this world, and I am willing to give all of that power to you: splendor, wealth and authority. Acknowledge that I have the power to do this, and it will be yours. 

And the Spirit of God who was in Jesus and had been leading Jesus reminded him by speaking through him that all power in heaven and on earth belongs to God and the world is blessed only through him, that is the only authority that I acknowledge, worship and serve (Matthew 4:10, Deuteronomy 6:13). 

This account is given to show what the kingdom of God would be built on, faith, the power of the word of God and God’s authority. Then, with this foundation Jesus began to preach “repent of your own ability to do works to please God, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). 

Jesus was saying that the kingdom of God is not a foreign place, but the kingdom of God that is built on faith is something you can grasp, you can believe in it and you can have that power work in your life daily and have God’s promise of salvation secured eternally, not by your strength or works or power but by the word and Spirit of God. 

The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus was able to endure the testing he experienced in the wilderness because of the power of the Spirit of God at work in his life and this same power gives believers spiritual strength. In Romans 15:1-13, Paul writes about the spiritual power that belief in Jesus gives to everyone who has faith.

The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ gives believers the strength to build up the faith of their neighbors for their good, not to please ourselves (self-righteousness) but to bring glory to God (Romans 15:2).

The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ gives believers the strength to endure insults because of their faith and be encouraged not by people but through scriptures. It is the scriptures and word of God that gives us hope (Romans 15:4). 

The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ gives believers the mind towards one another that Christ had: a mind focused on bringing glory, not to ourselves but to God (Romans 15:6).

The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ allows believers to accept one another just as Christ accepted you: in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7). 

The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ allows believers to become servants of the church, the body of Christ “on behalf of God’s truth so that the promises God made to the patriarchs might be confirmed (that all the earth would be blessed through this gospel) (Romans 15:8) “and that everyone might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:9; Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalms 117:1; Isaiah 11:10). 

Jesus teaches his disciples what it means have the power of the Spirit of God and be servants of God. In John 13:1-17 Jesus is seen washing his disciples’ feet. John 13:3 says that “Jesus knew that the father had put all things under his power” he knew who he had all spiritual authority and yet, as an evening meal was in progress, Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him (John 13:2-5).

But when he got to Peter, Peter refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet because he was accustomed to people of low status, servants doing that kind of work. But Jesus said to Peter that he did not realize what he was doing by washing the feet of his disciples (John 13:6-7). 

Jesus was exemplifying the work that his death sacrifice would do for everyone and says to Peter, “unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8). So Peter says, ‘then wash every part of me’ (John 13:9). But Jesus responds, “those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet, their whole body is clean” (John 13:10). 

Jesus was not talking about physical cleanliness even though he was using the metaphor of washing ones feet. Jesus was speaking about a spiritual cleansing that only he could do as both the ultimate spiritual authority and as the servant of God. When he said, ‘if your whole body is clean, you only need to wash your feet’ he was saying if you are acceptable to God by religious standards, doing what the law says makes you acceptable to God, you still will be missing a part of you that only faith in Jesus can cleanse; and alternatively if you are ungodly in the eyes of religion the part of you that needs cleansing is your belief that actions make you acceptable to God. 

After Jesus tells Peter that his cleansing is the only way to become acceptable to God he says to his disciples, “now that I, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet (cleansed you), you also should wash one another’s feet (teach about this cleansing that only I can do). I have set an example for you that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:14-15). 

Jesus is saying use the power of the Spirit of God in your life not to Lord over one another your own spiritual righteousness but to accept one another just as Christ accepted you. Jesus is also saying use the power of the Spirit of God in your life to be servants on behalf of God’s truth humbly enduring hardships and insults remembering that, “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. (We have) triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of (our) testimony” that the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah has come (Revelation 12:10-12).