In our study this morning Peter speaks of our new birth in Christ and the inheritance we are going to receive as children of the living God.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade." (1 Peter 1:3-4a) There is so much deep theological truth in this one statement that we could spend many days picking apart every element of it and discussing it in detail. But we will try and paraphrase Peter's beautiful proclamation like this: "Bless God! He who is the Father of the Lord Jesus has become our Father through our faith in Christ. We have been born again spiritually---born into the family of God. We are now His children and the brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus. Because we are the children of God and the brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus, we are going to receive a great inheritance. We are actually going to share in the same inheritance Jesus is going to receive from the Father! God is protecting this inheritance for us; no one can take it away."
The Apostle Paul says similar words in his letter to the Hebrews, "Both the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." (Hebrews 2:11), and in his letter to the Romans, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17a)
"This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:4b-5) Again we find Paul in agreement, for he says, "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) Paul also told the Ephesians that by the Holy Spirit believers are "sealed for the day of redemption". (Ephesians 4:30b) Peter and Paul aren't saying that Christians aren't already saved on the day that they believe, but that the full rights and privileges that come with being the children of God will not be revealed until the end. Until that day the Lord who saved us is keeping us saved by the Holy Spirit. Do you recall having to conjugate verbs in high school English class? If we were going to conjugate the verb "to save" as it is used in the Bible, it would go something like this, "Jesus has saved me, Jesus is saving me, Jesus will keep on saving me". It is an active and ongoing process in the past, present, and future. In other words, I was just as saved yesterday as I am today. I am just as saved today as I will be tomorrow. I will be just as saved on the day after tomorrow and on every day after that.
"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith---of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire---may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:6-9) Because of their faith the believers are able to endure anything the world throws at them because they know a glorious inheritance is ahead of them. The trials of this life are refining their faith and proving to them that they are strong in Christ. Their hope is a living hope, as Peter says in verse 3. It's not just hope for the afterlife but hope for this life. It is because they know that the full rights and privileges of the children of God will be granted to them in the end that they are able to live victoriously in the here and now.
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