"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look." 1 Peter 1:3-12
Peter is issuing a call to various churches in Asia minor (present-day Turkey) to proclaim the reality of Christ in word and deed (v. 2:9, 12). This living proclamation is in response to the wonder of the gospel of grace.
“I call piety that reverence joined with love of God, which the knowledge of his benefits induces.” John Calvin
CONSIDERATIONS:
1. Optimism - Living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
“Optimism is a wish without warrant; Christian hope is a certainty, guaranteed by God himself. Optimism reflects ignorance as to whether good things will ever actually come. Christian hope expresses knowledge that every day of his life and every moment beyond it, the believer can say with truth, on the basis of God's own commitment, the best is yet to come.” J.I. Packer
2. Inheritance - Imperishable, undefiled (untainted), and unfading, reserved in heaven.
3. Protected - (Being guarded) by the power of God through faith.
What did Christian discover at the house of the interpreter in Pilgrim's Progress?
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Hebrews 11:6
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Philippians 2:12 -13
The life of faith is the active looking to Christ and the finished work of the cross and pleading for the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.
"This perseverance of the saints does not depend on their own free will, but on:
• The immutability of the decree of God’s choice, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father,
• The effectiveness of the merit and the intercession of Jesus Christ,
• The abiding of the Spirit, and the seed of God abiding within them,
• And the nature of the covenant of grace. The certainty and unfailing nature of their perseverance arises from all of these." Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 17.2
All the promises of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Christ (v.11-12)
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4:4-7
"And he said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." Luke 24:25-27