1Pe 1:3-5 | KingComments | STEP | . After his introductory words wherein he highlighted the greatness and the work of the triune God, Peter speaks out a praise. He is full of what the God and Father of the Lord Jesus has done. He cannot do anything else but worship Him. That is what always happens when you come under the impression of Who God is. Because he is full of God he sees more of God, of Who He is and what He has done. He speaks in full admiration about God’s “great mercy” through which He did great things which can only amaze us. ‘Mercy’ is compassion for people whose need is so great that they are in danger of ruin, while they themselves have no possibility at all to come out of that need. It is about totally helpless people who in no way could become partakers of the blessing of God. That is the opportunity for God to show His ‘great mercy’. Peter speaks about great mercy in relation to the being born again of a sinner and the blessings attached to it. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ “has caused us to be born again”. That is truly great mercy! You have felt your misery and despondency and also your total incapacity to change anything about it. You were standing totally outside of God’s blessings. But God was very compassionate about you and He gave you new life. The fact that you are born again implies that the origin of your new life is ‘from above’ ( , footnote). You have been begotten of God. You yourself could do nothing about that, just as you couldn’t do anything about your natural birth. You indeed received life through your natural birth, but no hope at all for a happy future. On the contrary, you were brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin ( ). The results have also become visible in your life. Death and hell were therefore your final destination. Because God has worked in you new life according to “His great mercy”, a radical change has happened in that final destination. You now have been born again “to a living hope”. The hope that Peter presents here is totally different than the view to death and hell. This hope also goes much further than the prospect of a kingdom on earth under the government of the Messiah to which God’s earthly people always had looked forward to and is still looking forward to. The living hope is in fact related to a Jesus Christ Who is risen from the dead. The living hope that Peter presents here is not an earthly but a heavenly hope and therefore doesn’t look forward to the inheritance of the land of Canaan. “Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” the eye is focused on a portion in another world. Christ not only has given His blood and died, but He is also risen. You see a living Lord. Thereby you have a living hope, and beyond death you see everything there that is related to Him. Without His resurrection there would be no hope ( ). A living hope is a hope that is vividly before your eyes. It is not about something insecure, but contrarily this hope is an absolute assurance. Through the new life you are sure about that hope. You can consider this hope both objectively and subjectively. By that I mean that you can see that hope as something that is before you, something you look forward to. That is the inheritance that is presented in the next verses. You can see that hope also as something that is in you, something you feel and experience. That is the hope for that inheritance, the desire for it that makes you to be motivated to joyfully move on through life as a pilgrim. . Through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus the hope for the inheritance has become your part. It is an inheritance that with perfect assurance will be your possession. It is reserved for you and it cannot be defiled by anything or robbed by anyone. The inheritance is fixed in heaven and is preserved there for you in Jesus Christ, the risen and glorified Man. Nothing has the power to diminish the value of that inheritance: 1. It is “imperishable”, therefore not to be harmed by death, through which it would ultimately be destroyed. 2. It is also “undefiled”, therefore free from every spot and also not to be damaged by anything attached to sin. 3. It also “will not fade away” and is therefore without any flaw or even a little reduction of its beauty and is not to be damaged by any test of time. This inheritance is attached to ‘the heir of all things’ ( ). Therefore it is untouchable for death, filthiness and decay. The inheritance is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus that these Israelites, whom Peter is addressing, will once enter, as will you and me. However, it does not concern the kingdom on earth or the earthly part of the kingdom, which certainly will also be there, but the heavenly part of the kingdom. When the Lord Jesus will openly reign over heaven and earth, all believers who have died or have been taken up before the millennial kingdom comes, will be allowed to reign together with Him from heaven over all who are in heaven (angels, ) and who are on earth and over all things that are on earth ( ). It is the best part that you can ever imagine in the kingdom. . The inheritance is therefore reserved for you by God in a place where no thief and moth and rust can take it away or tarnish it. But what about the heirs? Surely these are weak and powerless to preserve themselves. Therefore Peter also has an encouraging word for the heirs. They are protected by the power of God for the inheritance. Therefore you can be sure that the inheritance is reserved for you and that you are preserved for the inheritance. And how does that happen? By nothing less than the “power of God”. As weak as you are, as strong is God. You are protected by a guard that is continuously there and which cannot be misguided or overpowered. That is quite an assurance for you as an heir that you will possess the inheritance! The mention of ‘protected’ indicates that there is danger. That is something you should be aware of. The guard is not supposed to make you careless. You may know – and that is supposed to give you rest – that you are kept by the faithfulness and power of God. At the same time there is also something you should do. To experience God’s protecting power “faith” is needed from your side. Faith ascribes to God the place He is worthy of and it keeps you in the place of trust in Him. Thereby you hold on to the statements of His Word. Faith is essential until the inheritance will be obtained. The fact that His protection happens by the means of faith, means that it is only applied to believers. It also means that believers have the responsibility to entrust themselves to Him for that protection. After all, faith means to have confidence. He doesn’t take His own by the hand to drag them along and in this way bring them to the final goal. He works by faith, whereby He also makes sure that your faith does not fail. Peter experienced that protection. After he denied the Lord he got restored because the Lord had prayed for him that his faith would not fail ( ). As it is said, faith is needed as long as we are on the way to the final goal. Peter calls that final goal “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”. Therefore the salvation here is still to come. The salvation is what will be our ultimate part when we are with the Lord and then come to earth together with Him. That the salvation is ready , implies that everything that is necessary for it has been done already. That the salvation has not come yet has got to do with the longsuffering of God, Who is not wishing for any to perish ( ). With “the last time” Peter means that when the salvation indeed comes, the fullness of the times has come. It is the millennial kingdom of peace in which all times will find their fulfillment ( ). Then the salvation will be revealed, it will become visible. After the millennial kingdom there will be no period of time anymore, but eternity will start. Now read 1 Peter 1:3-5 again. Reflection: To what degree is ‘the living hope’ that you have received, alive?

‏ 1 Peter 1:3-5

A Living Hope

1Pet 1:3. After his introductory words wherein he highlighted the greatness and the work of the triune God, Peter speaks out a praise. He is full of what the God and Father of the Lord Jesus has done. He cannot do anything else but worship Him. That is what always happens when you come under the impression of Who God is.

Because he is full of God he sees more of God, of Who He is and what He has done. He speaks in full admiration about God’s “great mercy” through which He did great things which can only amaze us. ‘Mercy’ is compassion for people whose need is so great that they are in danger of ruin, while they themselves have no possibility at all to come out of that need. It is about totally helpless people who in no way could become partakers of the blessing of God. That is the opportunity for God to show His ‘great mercy’.

Peter speaks about great mercy in relation to the being born again of a sinner and the blessings attached to it. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ “has caused us to be born again”. That is truly great mercy! You have felt your misery and despondency and also your total incapacity to change anything about it. You were standing totally outside of God’s blessings. But God was very compassionate about you and He gave you new life.

The fact that you are born again implies that the origin of your new life is ‘from above’ (Jn 3:3, footnote). You have been begotten of God. You yourself could do nothing about that, just as you couldn’t do anything about your natural birth.

You indeed received life through your natural birth, but no hope at all for a happy future. On the contrary, you were brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin (Psa 51:5). The results have also become visible in your life. Death and hell were therefore your final destination. Because God has worked in you new life according to “His great mercy”, a radical change has happened in that final destination. You now have been born again “to a living hope”.

The hope that Peter presents here is totally different than the view to death and hell. This hope also goes much further than the prospect of a kingdom on earth under the government of the Messiah to which God’s earthly people always had looked forward to and is still looking forward to. The living hope is in fact related to a Jesus Christ Who is risen from the dead. The living hope that Peter presents here is not an earthly but a heavenly hope and therefore doesn’t look forward to the inheritance of the land of Canaan. “Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” the eye is focused on a portion in another world.

Christ not only has given His blood and died, but He is also risen. You see a living Lord. Thereby you have a living hope, and beyond death you see everything there that is related to Him. Without His resurrection there would be no hope (1Cor 15:19-20). A living hope is a hope that is vividly before your eyes. It is not about something insecure, but contrarily this hope is an absolute assurance. Through the new life you are sure about that hope.

You can consider this hope both objectively and subjectively. By that I mean that you can see that hope as something that is before you, something you look forward to. That is the inheritance that is presented in the next verses. You can see that hope also as something that is in you, something you feel and experience. That is the hope for that inheritance, the desire for it that makes you to be motivated to joyfully move on through life as a pilgrim.

1Pet 1:4. Through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus the hope for the inheritance has become your part. It is an inheritance that with perfect assurance will be your possession. It is reserved for you and it cannot be defiled by anything or robbed by anyone. The inheritance is fixed in heaven and is preserved there for you in Jesus Christ, the risen and glorified Man.

Nothing has the power to diminish the value of that inheritance:

1. It is “imperishable”, therefore not to be harmed by death, through which it would ultimately be destroyed.

2. It is also “undefiled”, therefore free from every spot and also not to be damaged by anything attached to sin.

3. It also “will not fade away” and is therefore without any flaw or even a little reduction of its beauty and is not to be damaged by any test of time.

This inheritance is attached to ‘the heir of all things’ (Heb 1:2). Therefore it is untouchable for death, filthiness and decay.

The inheritance is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus that these Israelites, whom Peter is addressing, will once enter, as will you and me. However, it does not concern the kingdom on earth or the earthly part of the kingdom, which certainly will also be there, but the heavenly part of the kingdom. When the Lord Jesus will openly reign over heaven and earth, all believers who have died or have been taken up before the millennial kingdom comes, will be allowed to reign together with Him from heaven over all who are in heaven (angels, 1Cor 6:3) and who are on earth and over all things that are on earth (1Cor 6:2). It is the best part that you can ever imagine in the kingdom.

1Pet 1:5. The inheritance is therefore reserved for you by God in a place where no thief and moth and rust can take it away or tarnish it. But what about the heirs? Surely these are weak and powerless to preserve themselves. Therefore Peter also has an encouraging word for the heirs. They are protected by the power of God for the inheritance. Therefore you can be sure that the inheritance is reserved for you and that you are preserved for the inheritance.

And how does that happen? By nothing less than the “power of God”. As weak as you are, as strong is God. You are protected by a guard that is continuously there and which cannot be misguided or overpowered. That is quite an assurance for you as an heir that you will possess the inheritance!

The mention of ‘protected’ indicates that there is danger. That is something you should be aware of. The guard is not supposed to make you careless. You may know – and that is supposed to give you rest – that you are kept by the faithfulness and power of God. At the same time there is also something you should do. To experience God’s protecting power “faith” is needed from your side. Faith ascribes to God the place He is worthy of and it keeps you in the place of trust in Him. Thereby you hold on to the statements of His Word. Faith is essential until the inheritance will be obtained.

The fact that His protection happens by the means of faith, means that it is only applied to believers. It also means that believers have the responsibility to entrust themselves to Him for that protection. After all, faith means to have confidence. He doesn’t take His own by the hand to drag them along and in this way bring them to the final goal. He works by faith, whereby He also makes sure that your faith does not fail. Peter experienced that protection. After he denied the Lord he got restored because the Lord had prayed for him that his faith would not fail (Lk 22:32).

As it is said, faith is needed as long as we are on the way to the final goal. Peter calls that final goal “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”. Therefore the salvation here is still to come. The salvation is what will be our ultimate part when we are with the Lord and then come to earth together with Him.

That the salvation is ready, implies that everything that is necessary for it has been done already. That the salvation has not come yet has got to do with the longsuffering of God, Who is not wishing for any to perish (2Pet 3:9).

With “the last time” Peter means that when the salvation indeed comes, the fullness of the times has come. It is the millennial kingdom of peace in which all times will find their fulfillment (Eph 1:10). Then the salvation will be revealed, it will become visible. After the millennial kingdom there will be no period of time anymore, but eternity will start.

Now read 1 Peter 1:3-5 again.

Reflection: To what degree is ‘the living hope’ that you have received, alive?