1Pe 1:3-8 | 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 1:3-8

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?

The Proof of Faith

1Pet 1:6. The time of blessing and rest that will come with the coming of the millennial kingdom rejoices the heart of the pilgrim and encourages him to move on in faith. It will not last much longer, it will take only “a little while” before you reach the goal. It is a short time in comparison to eternity and also in comparison to the time of the kingdom of peace that will last a thousand years (cf. 2Cor 4:17).

In that short time you will be distressed by “various trials”. Peter says additionally “if necessary”. When you in your life of faith are distressed by trials, it is because God thinks it to be necessary, in order to test your faith. Only when we face difficulties, it will appear what faith means to us, whether we really trust in God. When everything is going smoothly it is not difficult to have faith.

Trials or tests do not make things pleasant, they are no source of joy, but of sorrow. Nevertheless, there can be joy when you are tempted. After all, it can be a cause of joy when you consider that the trial or temptation is a proof that God is engaged with you. A trial that you have to face shows that He has an interest in you. This is how James is presenting it (Jam 1:3). So on the one hand there is sorrow, on the other hand there is joy (cf. 2Cor 6:10).

1Pet 1:7. There are “various” or different kinds of trials that God sends or allows to happen in the life of the believer to test his faith. As it is said, He does that only when He thinks it to be necessary. For the important thing that He has in mind is that the faith will be expressed. Trials are therefore tests, for the goal of the test is not only to make the faith express itself, but also to make it more pure. To God the faith of His own is “more precious than gold”. Gold is the most precious metal in creation, but it is perishable. Faith on the contrary is not perishable.

To make gold as pure as possible it is freed from everything that diminishes its value. To achieve that, a process is needed whereby it is kept in the fire and is smelted. In that way everything that is not gold will float to the surface and will be removed. It is the same with faith that is purified from all unnatural elements (Psa 66:10; Pro 17:3) in the fiery trial (1Pet 4:12). Tests make faith more and more pure (Job 23:10). Also the prophet Malachi speaks about the purifying process that the believers from Israel will have to endure in the great tribulation, which is with a view to the coming of the Messiah (Mal 3:1-3).

The purification process is done by the Divine Smelter. He determines the level of the temperature of the test with a view to the trueness of the faith. Thereby He will not surpass what faith can bear (1Cor 10:13).

The result of His perfect wisdom will become completely visible at the revelation of Jesus Christ, Who will then be glorified in His saints and be marveled at among all who have believed (2Thes 1:10). Then it will become visible before all eyes how precious that faith is, that enabled these believers on earth to endure everything. The invisible Christ Who was rejected by the world, but Who meant everything to those believers, will become visible as the true motive of their life. He will be given all praise and honor and glory for His love and grace that surpass everything. This love and grace have given strength to His own to keep trusting in Him in the most difficult circumstances.

1Pet 1:8. Still Peter has not finished yet with presenting the glories that are related to the Lord Jesus and the faith in Him. Your life in faith does not only consist of expecting and looking forward to, but also of something that you now already possess and that is He Himself. You do not see Him, you even have not ever seen Him, but you still love Him. That is because of your new nature that loves the Beloved. By this you have eyes of the heart and see in faith (Eph 1:18; Heb 11:10 ; 27; Jn 8:56).

To love Him and to rejoice in Him have a decisive and educational influence on your heart. It makes the heart firm and fills it with joy, whatever the circumstances. You have never ever seen the Lord Jesus, nor have you seen His blood, neither His work on the cross. But you surely know that it is all true. You believe that. It gives you a joy that you cannot possibly put into words. Your whole heart and life are full of it. It is a joy that is “full of glory”, which means that this joy is not from the earth and also doesn’t fit here, but it comes from heaven. ‘Full of glory’ means full of praise. It is a joy that is full of the praise due to the Lord Jesus.

1Pet 1:9. The pleasure of that joy also gives the consciousness of the “salvation of your soul”. The salvation of the soul is “the outcome of your faith”, meaning the goal of faith, that what is established by faith. You have accepted the Lord Jesus as the One Who was willing to die for your sins on the cross. That immediately gave you the salvation of your soul. That your soul has been saved implies that you inwardly have been perfectly delivered from the consequences of sin and that you are also free from the fruits of the misery of sin.

Your body, however, has not been saved yet (Rom 8:23). You still can get sick for instance. Also creation has not been saved yet, but still groans under the consequences of sin (Rom 8:22). The full salvation is still to come, that is what you are hoping for and that is where you with perseverance are looking forward to (Rom 8:24-25).

1Pet 1:10. The prophets of the Old Testament have prophesied about this salvation. They spoke of a time of peace and righteousness on earth under the blessed reign of the Lord Jesus. They understood that they were talking about things that they themselves did not possess, but that it means “grace” to those who were going to partake of that. That grace was possessed by the readers of this letter. Isn’t it a great grace to be able to believe in Him through Whom the salvation has been fully realized in your soul and through Whom the salvation will be fully realized in creation?

1Pet 1:11. The prophets have shown the greatest interest in the things about which the “Spirit of Christ” inspired them to write. They made efforts to understand the things they wrote about. That a glorious time was going to come with the revelation of the Messiah was not a mystery to them. But what they could not understand, is that the Messiah first had to suffer and only thereafter the time of all kind of glories will come. Isn’t it indeed a great grace for you to know that the Messiah Jesus Who had suffered on earth, has now already been crowned in heaven with honor and glory (Heb 2:9) and that He will soon fill the world with His glory?

1Pet 1:12. God’s Spirit revealed to the prophets that the things they were reporting were not for themselves, but for the Jewish readers of this letter and also for us. Your eyes have been opened by those who have preached the gospel to you. They are the New Testament evangelists, for, according to Peter, they had spoken “by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven”. After all, the Holy Spirit could only come after the Lord Jesus was glorified by God in heaven (Jn 7:39; Acts 2:33). What the Holy Spirit has revealed now in the gospel, relates to a glorified Christ and the relation of the believers with Him.

Then you read about a second group of those who are interested: the angels. So there are two groups of interested in these things: the prophets and the angels. But the angels themselves do not partake of the things in which they are interested. The angels long to gain insight in the mystery of how God turned murderers of His Son into worshipers of His Son. They remember the rebellion among the angels, when Satan and his followers rebelled against God. They know how these apostate angels have caused that also man became rebellious against God. And now God grants salvation to fallen, rebellious people. That’s what extremely amazes the angels and that is something of which they would love to understand more.

In that view angels are an example to many Christians who, while they indeed partake of these things don’t show any interest in them at all. I assume that this does not apply to you, for then you would not read this explanation.

Now read 1 Peter 1:6-12 again.

Reflection: How can you purify your faith and how do you experience your joy in the Lord?