1Pe 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
The Greek word translated as “blessed” mean adorable. We all know what it is to adore someone. We tend to hang on their every word, follow them with our eyes as they walk about the room, and think about how wonderful it is that they are in our lives. I pray that we have this adoration for our God and Father or our Lord Jesus! Notice now that what follows is ours because of His abundant mercy. It does not say anything about what we have earned or what we deserve. The things that follow in this statement have only the mercy of God as their source and reason.
According to His abundant mercy, He has begotten us again. If He has begotten us, then He has made us to be His children. But what does it mean that He has begotten us again? First, consider that He has begotten us again unto a lively hope. You can’t have something “again” unless you have had it before. Peter, and these strangers had apparently had a lively hope once, then something happened to dim that hope. Peter had walked and talked with Jesus, declared his love and fidelity to Jesus, then denied Him and watched Him die on the cross. No doubt, as Peter walked with Him daily, heard His teachings, saw the miracles, and began to understand the power that was in Him, Peter had a lively hope for the house of Israel. When adversity struck, Peter’s faith wavered, and then his teacher, leader, and friend was nailed to a cross and died. Peter, the other apostles, and the disciples felt that all their hope had been in vain. Now, by the mercy of God, his hope was renewed and had been made a living thing in his heart!
The single act that brought this about was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! With that wondrous event, hope was kindled into a bright flame. With the resurrection of Jesus, Peter declared they were begotten, not only to a lively hope, but also to an inheritance that could not be corrupted, an inheritance that was pure, and an inheritance that would not fade away. This was a glorious thing to Peter. I am sure it was glorious to those that heard it declared and believed it in Peter’s day. By faith, we also have seen the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, felt that mighty power, and are fellow-heirs with Peter (not to mention joint heirs with Jesus) in this amazing inheritance he describes.
We can have great assurance in this inheritance because it is reserved (guarded) in heaven for us. The Greek word translated as heaven here could mean the abode of God, a place of peace and happiness, and specifically the Gospel. This assures us that we have a foretaste of this inheritance today in His kingdom here, and the fullness of it is kept by God. Our joy in this inheritance comes to us because we are kept by the power of God. By His keeping, our salvation in Jesus Christ is ready to be revealed in the last time.
We are certainly living in the last time. All who have lived since Christ’s resurrection have lived in the last time. The last time is this covenant of grace that we now enjoy, and His great salvation is revealed to us and in us as we live and serve Him. I know that our final deliverance is yet to come, but my daily deliverance assures me that the final one is real and ready, also.
May we be blessed to adore our God and Savior every day, according to His abundant mercy!
