It’s Glory All The Way!

(1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV) 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, {4} and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, {5} 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.

Peter’s words in verse 3 indicate that he is writing more here than simple instruction to give comfort and assurance in times of suffering; he is also indicating the basis for praise toward God. “Blessed be” in the New American Standard Bible is rendered “Praise be” in the New International Version.

One cannot help but recall the words of Job when he was told of the catastrophe which had struck him, especially the death of his children:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

Peter first praises God for the cause and the motivation for our salvation. God Himself is the cause of our salvation. He “caused us to be born again” (verse 3). This He did out of “His great mercy.” It is not our worthiness nor our desirability, but His mercy which is the reason for our salvation. Mercy is not an ego-inflating word, for it conveys that the object of mercy is pitiable, while the one showing mercy is praiseworthy.

Secondly, Peter further praises God because of what we have been saved to. God has caused us to be “born again.” We have been born again “to a living hope.” Our hope is a living hope because Christ not only died for our sins but rose from the grave so that we too are assured of rising with Him. Christ’s resurrection is the assurance that we have a future, and that future is our hope. As Christians, this should be our desire and our expectation.

Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished an inheritance for which every saint waits. Christ’s resurrection from the dead assures us God was well-pleased with Christ’s atoning work. Since His resurrection is the basis for, and assurance of, our own resurrection, we know we will enter into God’s eternal blessings.

All Old Testament saints died without entering into the promised blessings, but they were assured they would experience them after their death:

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth (Hebrews 11:13).

All Old Testament saints, like Abraham, had a resurrection faith which enabled them to hope for blessings after death:

He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him [Isaac] back as a type (Hebrews 11:19, see also verses 20-22).

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we have a future inheritance. This inheritance will be ours because Christ died. But it will be ours after we have died (unless, of course, we are alive at the second coming of Christ). Because our hope of future blessings rests in the finished work of our Lord, it is a certain hope. Peter gives a three-fold description of this hope: it is imperishable, it is undefiled, and it will not fade away. William MacDonald says it is death-proof, sin-proof, and time-proof.[1]

Our inheritance will not deteriorate over time. Perishable fruit tucked away in the back of our refrigerator may be forgotten until a pungent odor brings it to our attention. But our inheritance is unlike perishable food. Neither is our inheritance subject to defilement. Someone may try to reserve a piece of cake by defiling it so no one else wants it. But even sin and impurity can never defile our future inheritance.

Thirdly, our inheritance will not “fade away.” Time will not diminish its existence, like things that wear out, nor cause its desirability to diminish. With anything new, time causes its glory to fade. But our inheritance, unlike the glow on Moses’ face in 2 Corinthians 3:7-11, never fades.

What an assurance! The blessings which constitute our future hope are absolutely certain for they do not diminish over time. They are also being kept for us. We need not worry about any contingency which might nullify our hope. Our blessings are sure.

Man’s glory simply does not last, but God’s glory is eternal; and He has deigned to share that glory with us! In this first section of his letter, Peter shared wonderful discoveries that he had made about the glory of God.

(1:3-5) Introduction—Hope: this is a rich, rich passage of Scripture. It is one of those passages that is so rich that it would take an eternity to grasp all that is taught herein. And note the most wonderful thing: it has to do with the believer’s glorious hope. What is the great hope of the believer? It is eternal life—the glorious privilege of living forever with God. Just imagine living face to face with God forever! No greater privilege could ever be given man. Note that our hope is said to be a living hope.

Þ A living hope means that it is not a dead, lifeless hope. It is not the kind of hope that we use to stir positive thinking for the moment but does nothing for us beyond the grave; not the kind of hope that gives us meaning and motivation for life but is dead and lifeless beyond this life. Despite all the earthly benefit we get from positive thinking and motivational hope, these have no meaning beyond this life and the grave.

Þ A living hope means that it is not a probable hope; it is not the kind of hope that may or may not come to pass.

The hope that God gives is a living hope, a hope that is real and true, that actually exists. A living hope is active and functioning; it acts and works both within the heart of the believer and within heaven apart from the believer. Eternal life is a living hope because it is reality; it is a life that really exists in another world, the spiritual world, that is more real than the world in which we live. The believer’s hope for eternal life lives, acts, and works within the believer now, even while he is on earth. It is not that the believer is going to receive eternal life; he has already received eternal life. His hope for eternal life is living, acting, and working within him right now. This is the glorious hope of the believer, the living hope of living forever with God face to face.

Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, believers have been “begotten again” to a living hope, and that hope includes the glory of God. But, what do we mean by “the glory of God”?

The glory of God means the sum total of all that God is and does. “Glory” is not a separate attribute or characteristic of God, such as His holiness, wisdom, or mercy. Everything that God is and does is characterized by glory. He is glorious in wisdom and power, so that everything He thinks and does is marked by glory. He reveals His glory in creation (Ps. 19), in His dealings with the people of Israel, and especially in His plan of salvation for lost sinners.

When we were born the first time, we were not born for glory. “For all flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of grass” (1 Peter 1:24, quoted from Isa. 40:6). Whatever feeble glory man has will eventually fade and disappear; but the glory of the Lord is eternal. The works of man done for the glory of God will last and be rewarded (1 John 2:17). But the selfish human achievements of sinners will one day vanish to be seen no more. One reason that we have encyclopedias is so that we can learn about the famous people who are now forgotten!

This miracle all began with God: we were chosen by the Father (Eph. 1:3-4). This took place in the deep counsels of eternity, and we knew nothing about it until it was revealed to us in the Word of God. This election was not based on anything we had done, because we were not even on the scene. Nor was it based on anything God saw that we would be or do. God’s election was based wholly on His grace and love. We cannot explain it (Rom. 11:33-36), but we can rejoice in it.

Peter does not deny man’s part in God’s plan to save sinners. In 1 Peter 1:23 he emphasizes the fact that the Gospel was preached to these people, and that they heard it and believed (see also 1 Peter 1:12). Peter’s own example at Pentecost is proof that we do not “leave it all with God” and never urge lost sinners to come to Christ (Acts 2:37-40). The same God who ordains the end—our salvation—also ordains the means to the end—the preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God.

(1:3) Hope, Believer’s—Mercy: there is the source of the hope. The source is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note who our Lord Jesus Christ is.

Þ He is our Lord, the One to whom we have surrendered and subjected our lives; the One who sits in the spiritual and heavenly world at the right hand of God the Father.

Þ He is Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, the Man who claimed to be the Son of God and who was sent into the world as the Savior of men.

This means a most wonderful thing: if we follow the Lord Jesus Christ, then the God and Father of Jesus Christ becomes our God and Father. And note: He is the God who gives eternal life. This too means a most wonderful thing: God is not off in outer space someplace, far removed from us, a god with little or no interest in our welfare. God is near at hand, all about us, living within the spiritual world and dimension, longing to relate to us and to look after and care for us, and to give us eternal life. Jesus Christ shows us this. This was the way His Father took care of Him; and if we follow Christ, it is the way God, even our Father, takes care of us. He gives us the most wonderful of gifts: eternal life—the living hope of living forever with Him even as Christ our Lord is now living with Him in heaven.

Note: eternal life exists nowhere else. Only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ possesses eternal life. Therefore, if a person wants to know God and to receive eternal life, he has to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. The person has to trust Christ if he wants the God and Father of Christ to give him eternal life. And we must always remember: only the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ can give a person the living hope of living forever.

Now, how does God go about giving us the living hope of eternal life? This is a critical question, for when we look around our world all we see is corruption and death. We are born and then before we know it, it is time to die. There is so little time in between birth and death. And even while we are here on earth there is sin, shame, accident, disease, suffering, evil, cursing, lying, stealing, deception, assaults, murders, wars—so much corruption that death just seems to engulf the earth. The thinking and honest person knows that he and everything else including the world itself are dying. How then does God stop this process of corruption and death? How does God go about giving us the living hope of eternal life?

1. The living hope comes by the mercy of God. This is the basis of our hope; it could be no other way. Man is just so sinful he has only one hope: the hope that God will have mercy upon him. Just think how we have treated God. We have...

The list could go on and on, but the point is clearly seen. Our only hope is the mercy of God. If we are going to ever be accepted and given the living hope of living forever and ever, then God has to be merciful. He has to have mercy upon us.

The word “mercy” (eleos) means feelings of pity, compassion, affection, and kindness. It is a desire to succor; to tenderly draw unto oneself and to care for. Two things are essential in order to have mercy: seeing a need and being able to meet that need. God sees our need and feels for us (Ephes. 2:1-3). Therefore, He acts; He has mercy upon us. How? By doing two things:

And note that God is said to have abundant (great, overflowing, endless, boundless) mercy. His mercy just flows on and on; it is ever covering us and creating the living hope and presence of eternal life within our hearts.

2. The living hope comes by the new birth. Note the words begotten again or born again. There is no hope for eternal life unless a person is born again by the Spirit of God. A person has to be regenerated and made into a new man before he can ever live forever.

3. The living hope comes by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to live forever in heaven with His Father. How does His resurrection give us the hope of living forever? By three things.

a. First, God has proven that He has the power to raise the dead. There should never be any question about this; for God, if He is truly God, has unlimited power to do anything. But His power to raise the dead and to keep them from ever dying again is now proven beyond all question: it is proven by the fact that He has raised Jesus Christ from the dead and exalted Him into heaven never again to die.

b. Second, the fact that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead proves that Jesus Christ is exactly who He claimed to be: the Son of God who came into the world to save men. God would have never raised Christ if He had been a liar and deceiver. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world; therefore, God raised Him from the dead.

c. Third, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Perfect and Ideal Man who lived a sinless life when He was upon earth. Therefore, He stands before God as the Perfect and Ideal Man. What this means is most significant. Being the Perfect and Ideal Man, whatever He does is acceptable to God. When He arose from the dead, His resurrection was the perfect and ideal resurrection. Therefore, it can stand for and cover every man’s resurrection. If we are in Christ—if we really believe in Christ—then God can count us in the ideal resurrection of Christ. God can raise us up to live with Him forever and ever just as He did with Christ. Remember why—because Jesus Christ arose and has given us the ideal and perfect resurrection, and the Ideal can stand for and cover the resurrection of all others.

To begin with, it is a living hope because it is grounded on the living Word of God (1 Peter 1:23), and was made possible by the living Son of God who arose from the dead. A “living hope” is one that has life in it and therefore can give life to us. Because it has life, it grows and becomes greater and more beautiful as time goes on. Time destroys most hopes; they fade and then die. But the passing of time only makes a Christian’s hope that much more glorious.

Peter called this hope an inheritance (1 Peter 1:4). As the children of the King, we share His inheritance in glory (Rom. 8:17-18; Eph. 1:9-12). We are included in Christ’s last will and testament, and we share the glory with Him (John 17:22-24).

Note the description of this inheritance, for it is totally unlike any earthly inheritance. For one thing, it is incorruptible, which means that nothing can ruin it. Because it is undefiled, it cannot be stained or cheapened in any way. It will never grow old because it is eternal; it cannot wear out, nor can it disappoint us in any way.

What a thrilling thing it is to know that we were born for glory! When we were born again, we exchanged the passing glory of man for the eternal glory of God!

(1:4) Hope, Believer’s—Inheritance, Spiritual: there is the inheritance of the hope. The inheritance is the eternal life that God gives us, but the inheritance of eternal life involves the most wonderful gifts imaginable.

Þ Being given a position of rule and authority (Luke 12:42-44; Luke 22:28-29; 1 Cor. 6:2-3).

Þ Being given thrones and the privilege of reigning forever (Rev. 20:4; Rev. 22:5).

Þ Being given the privilege of surrounding the throne of God (Rev. 7:9-13; Rev. 20:4).

Note how our inheritance is described in 1 Peter 1:4. It is most descriptive, an astounding picture of the new heavens and earth that are coming and of our life in God’s new and eternal world.

1. Our inheritance is “incorruptible” (aphtharton). The word means that it cannot perish; it does not age, deteriorate, or die; it does not have the seed of corruption within it.

Matthew Henry points out that everything on earth changes from better to worse, but not our inheritance. It is perfect and incorruptible. It never changes, and it shall never cease to be the most perfect inheritance and gift imaginable (Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Vol.6. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, p.1005.).

2. Our inheritance is “undefiled” (amianton). The word means that it cannot be polluted or defiled, dirtied or infected. It means that our inheritance will be without any flaw or defect; it will be perfectly free from sickness, disease, infections, accident, pollution, dirt—from any defilement whatsoever. There will never be any tears over what happens to oneself or over the damage or loss of some possession.

3. Our inheritance does not fade away (amaranton). It will last forever and ever. The splendor and beauty of it all—of life and of all the positions and possessions which God shall give us—none of the splendor and beauty shall fade or diminish whatsoever. Nothing, not even our energy and bodies, shall wear out or waste away.

4. Our inheritance is in heaven; it is reserved there for us. It is actually being held there by God for us. God is simply waiting for us to finish our task here on earth and to come to Him. Then He will give us our inheritance.

Note a critical point: the persons who are to receive the inheritance are those who have received the mercy of God, been born again, and are trusting the resurrection of Jesus Christ to cover their resurrection (1 Peter 1:3).

(1:5) Hope, Believer’s: there is the assurance of the hope. What could possibly keep us from enjoying the blessings of our future hope? It could not be the loss or devaluation of these blessings, for they are imperishable, undefiled, and they will not fade away. It is possible that our blessings will not fail, but we will. If verses 3 and 4 assure us that the blessings of our salvation are secure, verse 5 assures us that we are secure. Our blessings are reserved for us in heaven, and we are preserved for them on earth.

We are protected by the power of God. God is our refuge and strength. He is our strong tower. His power protects us. Because He is all-powerful, nothing can cause us to lose that which God has provided, promised, and preserved. As Paul has written,

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).

We are protected by the power of God. We are also protected through faith. The power of God is provided for our protection, but God provides and requires faith as the means through which God’s power is appropriated. While Peter was going to fail, as Jesus warned, the Savior had prayed for him that his faith would not fail. Peter could fail and fall, but he could not fall completely. Like us, he was protected by the power of God for a salvation yet to be revealed.

How do we know for sure that we will receive the inheritance? The temptations and trials of life are so forceful and threatening, how do we know that we will receive the living hope of eternal life and its glorious inheritance? How do we know that we will not fall and come short of the great day of redemption? There are two answers.

1. There is the assurance of God’s power. God’s power keeps us. The word “kept” (phrouroumenous) means to guard; to garrison; to protect. It is a military term; therefore it has the idea of might and strength. The might and strength of God’s power protect us throughout our journey in life—through all the trials and temptations of life—and God will see to it that we shall reach the glorious end of life: salvation. God Himself, in His sovereign and omnipotent power, will see to it that we receive eternal life and the inheritance that is being reserved for us.

No person shall ever receive the hope of eternal life or of God’s glorious inheritance unless he truly believes in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Belief in Christ is absolutely essential. But once we have truly trusted Christ as our Savior, we are saved; we shall receive eternal life and the great inheritance of God’s promise.

But note: a true faith is a continuing faith and trust in God’s power. And a continuing faith is diligent and vigilant. It is a faith that loves Christ with all its heart and life. It is a faith that seeks to follow Christ and to please Him in all that it does. Therefore, a continuing faith is a faith that lives a holy, righteous, and pure life and that serves the Lord Jesus Christ. Simply stated, the person who truly believes in Jesus Christ gives all he is and has to the Lord Jesus Christ: he gives all that he is and has to spread the love of Christ around the world. True faith is a real commitment that obeys and follows Christ and that trusts the power of God to deliver him through all the trials and temptations of life. This is the kind of faith that keeps a person. The person who has this kind of faith has the assurance that he will receive eternal life and the promise of the inheritance. God gives the true believer this kind of assurance.

Not only is the glory being “reserved” for us, but we are being kept for the glory! In my travels, I have sometimes gone to a hotel or motel, only to discover that the reservations have been confused or cancelled. This will not happen to us when we arrive in heaven, for our future home and inheritance are guaranteed and reserved.

“But suppose we don’t make it?” a timid saint might ask. But we will; for all believers are being “kept by the power of God.” The word translated “kept” is a military word that means “guarded, shielded.” The tense of the verb reveals that we are constantly being guarded by God, assuring us that we shall safely arrive in heaven. This same word is used to describe the soldiers guarding Damascus when Paul made his escape (2 Cor. 11:32). See also Jude 24-25 and Romans 8:28-39.

Believers are not kept by their own power, but by the power of God. Our faith in Christ has so united us to Him that His power now guards us and guides us. We are not kept by our strength, but by His faithfulness. How long will He guard us? Until Jesus Christ returns and we will share in the full revelation of His great salvation. This same truth is repeated in 1 Peter 1:9.

It is encouraging to know that we are “guarded for glory.” According to Romans 8:30, we have already been glorified. All that awaits is the public revelation of this glory (Rom. 8:18-23). If any believer were lost, it would rob God of His glory. God is so certain that we will be in heaven that He has already given us His glory as the assurance (John 17:24; Eph. 1:13-14).

The assurance of heaven is a great help to us today. As Dr. James M. Gray expressed it in one of his songs, “Who can mind the journey, when the road leads home?” If suffering today means glory tomorrow, then suffering becomes a blessing to us. The unsaved have their “glory” now, but it will be followed by eternal suffering away from the glory of God (2 Thes. 1:3-10). In the light of this, ponder 2 Corinthians 4:7-18—and rejoice!

It will take us a long time to appropriate the riches of this passage, for there are few passages in the New Testament where more of the great fundamental Christian ideas come together.

It begins with a doxology to God-but a doxology with a difference. For a Jew the commonest of all beginnings to prayer was, "Blessed art thou, O God." The Christian takes over that prayer-but with a difference. His prayer begins, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is not praying to a distant, unknown God; he is praying to the God who is like Jesus and to whom, through Jesus Christ, he may come with childlike confidence.

This passage begins with the idea of rebirth; the Christian is a man who has been reborn; begotten again by God to a new kind of life. Whatever else this means, it means that, when a man becomes a Christian, there comes into his life a change so radical that the only thing that can be said is that life has begun all over again for him. This idea of rebirth runs all through the New Testament. Let us try to collect what it says about it.

(i) The Christian rebirth happens by the will and by the act of God (John 1:13; James 1:18). It is not something which a man achieves any more than he achieves his physical birth.

(ii) Another way to put that is to say that this rebirth is the work of the Spirit (John 3:1-15). It happens to a man, not by his own effort, but when he yields himself to be possessed and re-created by the Spirit within him.

(iii) It happens by the word of truth (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). In the beginning it was the word of God which created heaven and earth and all that is in them. God spoke and the chaos became a world, and the world was equipped with and for life. It is the creative word of God in Jesus Christ which brings about this rebirth in a man's life.

(iv) The result of this rebirth is that the man who is reborn becomes the first fruits of a new creation (James 1:18). It lifts him out of this world of space and time, of change and decay, of sin and defeat, and brings him here and now into touch with eternity and eternal life.

(v) When a man is reborn, it is to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). Paul describes the heathen world as being without hope (Ephesians 2:12). Sophocles wrote: "Not to be born at all-that is by far the best fortune; the second best is as soon as one is born with all speed to return thither whence one has come." To the heathen the world was a place where all things faded and decayed; it might be pleasant enough in itself but it was leading out into nothing but an endless dark. To the ancient world the Christian characteristic was hope. That hope came from two things. (a) The Christian felt that he had been born, not of corruptible, but of incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23). He had something of the very seed of God in him and, therefore, had in him a life which neither time nor eternity could destroy. (b) It came from the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3). The Christian had for ever beside him-even more, was one with-this Jesus Christ who had conquered even death and, therefore, there was nothing of which he need be afraid.

(vi) The rebirth of the Christian is a rebirth to righteousness (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 5:18). In this rebirth he is cleansed from himself, the sins which shackle him and the habits which bind him; and he is given a power which enables him to walk in righteousness. That is not to say that the man who is reborn will never sin; but it is to say that every time he falls he will be given the power and the grace to rise again.

(1 John 4:7). Because the life of God is in him, he is cleansed from the essential unforgiving bitterness of the self-centred life and there is in him something of the forgiving and sacrificial love of God.

(iii) Finally, the rebirth of the Christian is rebirth to victory (1 John 5:3). Life ceases to be defeat and begins to be victory, over self and sin and circumstances. Because the life of God is in him, the Christian has learned the secret of victorious living.

Further, the Christian has entered into a great inheritance (kleronomia). Here is a word with a great history; for it is the word which is regular used in the Greek Old Testament for the inheritance of Canaan, the Promised Land. Again and again the Old Testament speaks of the land which God had given people for an inheritance to possess (Deuteronomy 15:4; 19:10). To us inheritance tends to mean something which in the future we shall possess; as the Bible uses the word, it rather means a secure possession. To the Jew the great settled possession was the Promised Land.

But the Christian inheritance is even greater. Peter uses three words with three pictures behind them to describe it. It is imperishable (aphthartos). The word does mean imperishable but it can also mean unravaged by any invading army. Many and many a time Palestine had been ravaged by the armies of the aliens; it had been fought over and blasted and destroyed. But the Christian possesses a peace and a joy, which no invading army can ravage and destroy. It is undefilable. The word is amiantos, and the verb miainein, from which this adjective comes, means to pollute with impious impurity. Many and many a time Palestine had been rendered impure by false worship of false gods (Jeremiah 2:7, 23; 3:2; Ezekiel 20:43). The defiling things had often left their touch even on the Promised Land; but the Christian has a purity which the sin of the word cannot infect. It is unfading (amarantos). In the Promised Land, as in any land, even the loveliest flower fades and the loveliest blossom dies. But the Christian is lifted into a world where there is no change and decay and where his peace and joy are untouched by the chances and the changes of life.

What, then, is this wonderful inheritance which the reborn Christian possesses? There may be many secondary answers to that question but there is only one primary answer-the inheritance of the Christian is God himself. The Psalmist said, "The Lord is my chosen portion . . . I have a goodly heritage" (Psalm 16:5). God is his portion for ever (Psalm 73:23-26). "The Lord," said the prophet, "is my portion; therefore I will hope in him" (Lamentations 3:24).

It is because the Christian possesses God and is possessed by God that he has the inheritance which is imperishable, undefilable and which can never fade away.

The inheritance of the Christian, the full joy of God, is waiting for him in heaven; and of that Peter has two great things to say.

(i) On our journey through this world to eternity we are protected by the power of God through faith. The word which Peter uses for protect (phrourein) is a military word. It means that our life is garrisoned by God and that he stands sentinel over us all our days. The man who has faith never doubts, even when he cannot see him, that God is standing within the shadows keeping watch upon his own. It is not that God saves us from the troubles and the sorrows and the problems of life; but he enables us to conquer them and march on.

(ii) The final salvation will be revealed at the last time. Here we have two conceptions which are at the very basis of New Testament thought.

The New Testament frequently speaks of the last day or days, or the last time. At the back of this is the way the Jews divided all time into ages-the present age, which is wholly under the domination of evil and the age to come, which will be the golden age of God. In between came the day of the Lord during which the world would be destroyed and remade and judgment would come. It is this in time which is the last days or the last time, that time when the world as we know it will come to an end.

It is not given to us to know when that time will come nor what will happen then. But we can gather together what the New Testament says about these last days.

(i) The Christians believed that they were already living in the last days. "It is the last hour," says John to his people (1 John 2:18). The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the fullness of the revelation which has come to men in Christ in these last days (Hebrews 1:2). As the first Christians saw it, God had already invaded time and the end was hastening on.

(ii) The last times were to be times of the pouring out of God's Spirit upon men (Acts 2:17). The early Christians saw that being fulfilled in Pentecost and in the Spirit-filled Church.

(iii) It was the regular conviction of the early Christians that before the end the powers of evil would make a final assault and that all kinds of false teachers would arise (2 Timothy 3:1; 1 John 2:18; Jude 18).

(iv) The dead would be resurrected. It is Jesus's promise that at the last time he will raise up his own (John 6:39,40,44,54;11:24).

(v) Inevitably it would be a time of judgment when God's justice would be exercised and his enemies find their just condemnation and punishment (John 12:48; James 5:3).

Such are the ideas which are in the minds of the New Testament writers when they use this phrase the last times or the last days.

Clearly for many a man such a time will be a time of terror; but for the Christian there is, not terror, but deliverance. The word sozein means to save in far more than a theological sense. It is the regular word for to rescue from danger and to heal in sickness. Charles Bigg in his commentary points out that in the New Testament sozein, to save, and soteria, salvation, have four different, but closely related, spheres of meaning. (a) They describe deliverance from danger (Matthew 8:25). (b) They describe deliverance from disease (Matthew 9:21). (c) They describe deliverance from the condemnation of God (Matthew 10:22; 24:13). (d) They describe deliverance from the disease and power of sin (Matthew 1:21). Salvation is a many-sided thing. In it there is deliverance from danger, deliverance from disease, deliverance from condemnation and deliverance from sin. And it is that, and nothing less than that, to which the Christian can look forward at the end.

Peter’s introductory words we have considered in this lesson serve as a message from God to us. We may sum up the essence of his introduction with these observations.

(1) We may praise God and rejoice because our salvation is secure. The first words of verse 3 are words of praise: “Blessed be … ” Our praise and rejoicing is directed toward God. The words of this epistle, and of these verses, should be the basis and motivation for our worship and our rejoicing in the Lord.

(2) Our salvation is secure because, from start to finish, it is the work of a sovereign God, a work of mercy and grace, and not of human merit. When Jesus warned Peter of his upcoming denial, he adamantly protested. He assured the Lord that though all others might deny Him, he would not. Peter trusted in himself when he assured the Lord Jesus he would not fail Him. We know the extent of Peter’s failure. But out of his failure, Peter came to understand that it was not his faithfulness, but God’s, that assured him of entering into the blessings of the kingdom of God.

Peter’s words in our text underscore the basis for our security. Our salvation is the work of God, and not the work of men. God’s salvation involves the work of the Trinity. The Father chose us in eternity past. The Spirit set us apart to salvation by causing us to trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And the shed blood of Jesus is God’s means for cleansing us from the guilt of our sins. He is the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). God’s salvation is not based upon our merit and good works, but it was motivated by His mercy, directed toward us in our pitiable estate.

(3) Our salvation is from sin and to a future inheritance in heaven that is certain. The salvation of which Peter speaks encompasses both time and eternity. God chose us before the creation of the world (1:2; see Ephesians 1:4). We now experience some of the benefits of our salvation. The full benefits and blessings await us at the second coming of Christ and will last for all eternity. Peter especially focuses our attention on the future dimensions of our salvation which are a “living hope” (1:3), upon which we must completely fix our hearts and minds (1:13).

The hope of our full, future salvation is based upon the work of God (1:2), and it rests upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. Particularly in view is the resurrection of Christ, which not only provides God’s seal of approval on His work, but assures us that we shall rise from the dead, and that the blessings which lie before us are “imperishable, undefiled and will not fade away” (1:4).

Many of the benefits and blessings of our salvation are yet to be experienced in the future. It is important to note that Peter very clearly states we have not obtained all of the benefits and blessings accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. Many of the blessings of our salvation are still a matter of hope and not a present experience. These blessings are “ready to be revealed at the last time” (verse 5). Some Christians believe all of the blessings are ours to experience now, and our failure to enjoy them is due to our lack of faith in claiming them. This is not what Peter teaches. He tells us they are future, and while they are certain, we must wait until the coming of our Lord to enjoy them.

This future dimension of our salvation is not something we are naturally inclined to believe or welcome. Partly, this is because the present is to have its share of suffering (1:6ff.). Those who did not believe in Jesus challenged Him to “come down now” (Matthew 27:42-43) to prove He was the Messiah. Even to the end of His presence on earth, our Lord’s disciples were eager for His kingdom to come immediately (see Acts 1:6).

(4) Our salvation is secure, for we are kept by the power of God. Not only is our inheritance certain, “reserved in heaven for us” (1:4), but we are being kept securely for it. Our future inheritance will not fail us, and we shall not fail to enter into it and its blessings. We are “protected by the power of God through faith” (1:5). Our eyes can be fixed upon our future hope because our enjoyment of its blessings is absolutely certain.

(5) Salvation is the vantage point from which we must view suffering. One cannot mistake the unity of verses 3-12. The emphasis of verses 3-5 is upon the certainty of our salvation and our security in Christ. The emphasis of verses 6-12 is upon suffering, the suffering we can expect to experience as a result of being saved. It is no accident that Paul speaks first of our salvation, of its certainty and our security, and then of our suffering. Salvation is the vantage point from which our sufferings are to be viewed. To be certain of the future hope of the believer is to be equipped to endure the present sufferings to which we have been called.

How unfortunate that many Christians look at their salvation from their circumstances, rather than looking at their circumstances through their salvation. When some saints suffer, they begin to doubt their salvation and the certainty of their future hope. Other Christians may even encourage such doubts. Some may blame suffering on sin, as Job’s friends counseled him. It was not his sin, but his righteousness which was the occasion for his sin. It was not his downfall, but his growth which God had in view. Neither Job’s friends nor his wife were of any real comfort to him, for they did not point him God-ward, as does Peter. Peter wants us to view our suffering from the standpoint of our security as saints, based upon God’s mercy, grace and power.

(6) Peter teaches us that saints are not “victims” but “victors” in their suffering. The “victim” mindset has become a dominant note in our society. We look to our past, and to the abuse of others, or to the “genes” passed on to us from our parents as the cause of our sin and suffering. Peter turns our eyes toward God and toward the shed blood of His Son, in whom we have not only forgiveness of sins, but victory in Christ. We were not saved merely to cope with life; we were called to be conquerors in Christ. We are overcomers, especially in the trials and tribulations of life. Let us believe and behave accordingly.

The mindset Peter calls for from every saint is demonstrated by his fellow-apostle, Paul. Paul expresses the security of the saint in the midst of suffering, based upon his confidence in the Savior:

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day (2 Timothy 1:12).

May we be able to say “Amen” to these words because we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and also because we view our suffering from the standpoint of the salvation God has provided, and now protects and preserves, in His Son, Jesus Christ.

[1] William Mac Donald, I Peter: Faith Tested, Future Triumphant, p. 16, as cited by D. Edmond Hiebert, 1 Peter (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), p. 61.