Written ~ 12-09-2024
Read 1 Peter Chapter One
1 Peter 1
The Apostle Peter is writing to believers who have been scattered across the Roman Empire. Their persecution was so fierce that Peter felt compelled to write to these believers not only to encourage them but to remind them why they were suffering. They were suffering because of their glorious Savior, Jesus. As we read this letter addressed to the early church, keep in mind that the same reminders apply to us today. When we made the decision to give our hearts and lives to the Lord, we instantly became an enemy to the adversary, Satan. He will do what he can to keep us in a state of persecution, oppression and suffering, so these reminders of who we serve should give us great strength in our faith. When we read through this letter, let’s all be exceedingly mindful of how our lives reflect our Savior.
1 Peter 1:3-5…
3 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
Verses 1:3b-4 (The Message – MSG)…
“Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven – and the future starts now!”
Have you ever thought about what we have waiting for us in Heaven? I mean really thought about it. Verse 1:3 says that after we have become born again, we will live with great expectation. That anticipation and expectation can become quite great when we understand the priceless inheritance we have waiting for us.
Romans 8:16-17 says…
“…His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory…”
Ephesians 1:11a says…
“…because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God…”
Also, in Colossians 1:12 it says…
“…He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the Light…”
An inheritance is a birthright. The only way we can receive the inheritance waiting in Heaven, is to be born into the family of God. When we become a child of God through the acceptance of His Son Jesus Christ, we will then become co-heirs with Him! Romans 8:17 says, “…we are heirs of God’s Glory…” What that means to me, is that everything we learn about God, the Almighty Creator, our Father in Heaven, the power, the glory, the magnificence and all of His promises will be given to us. What we see and receive here on earth is nothing compared to what we have waiting for us in Heaven!
Let’s look at 1 Peter 1:4…
“…we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”
What if you had an object, like an inestimable gemstone, an original Gutenberg Bible, or a one of kind sportscar, you would keep each of those things under lock and key, more than likely you would be in constant worry of it being stolen or ruined by outside elements. But guess what? Our inheritance, waiting for us in Heaven is PRICELESS, that means no matter what we think our inheritance is worth, we could never calculate a sum high enough. Another difference between an earthly inheritance and a Heavenly inheritance is that our Heavenly inheritance is kept safe by God Himself! It cannot be touched by corruption, it cannot be defiled, contaminated, polluted, it cannot spoil or decay, it cannot be stolen. Our heavenly inheritance will not be locked away where it can only be seen behind glass and iron bars. So, this is the expectation we live for today! The fullness of our inheritance will be revealed to us on the last day!
1 Peter 1:5 says…
“…And through your faith, God is protecting you by His Power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see…”
When we are born again, our name gets written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 20:12-15), as we continue our lives here on earth we are to live a holy life, continue to live in our Salvation. Then on the last day, the final day of judgment, God will open the Book of Life and when He finds our names written there, we are given the fullness of our inheritance, the fullness of our Salvation. This is something wonderful, too awesome for words, we have a gift waiting for us in Heaven that is indescribable!
That is why we look to Heaven with anticipation, it is why we need to walk with Jesus and follow His example, to be excited for His return and our eternity with Him in Heaven. Verse 1:3b…
3b “…Now we live with great expectation…”
My prayer is that you live in expectation. I pray that you have turned your heart over to Jesus Christ and have been added to the list of co-heirs with Jesus.
1 Peter 1:6-9…
6 “So, be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.”
I would say that none of us like the idea of going through trials, having troublesome circumstances or faith testing situations, but we will need to endure these types of things, it’s inevitable while we live here on this earth. But for the believer we have a very different way of viewing trials. We are to be glad; the reason is because we have a wonderful joy waiting for us in Heaven! Remember what we just read in verses 1:3-5 is all about the inheritance we will receive as the completion to our Salvation, and it is going to be the most awe inspiring, unimaginable moment we get to look forward to and we look forward to it with great joy!
Look at verse 1:7 in The Message (MSG)…
7 “Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His victory.”
So, as we go through trials today, we must stand firm on the faith and trust we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. If we can endure and go through difficult situations with praise on our lips, and honor in our minds and in our hearts, never doubting the plan of God, our faith can only strengthen and become pure and genuine. Jesus doesn’t want monetary “things” to show Him honor, no, He wants our lives, and our faith in Him must be full of praise, glory and honor. That way when we get to Heaven…
“God will have our faith on display as evidence of Christ’s victory.” (paraphrase is mine)
What does that statement mean to you? Is it exciting to you to know that your faith will be on display?
Let’s think of it this way… Imagine you have been studying for the highest degree possible in a field that means the world to you, it’s something you have dreamed about your entire life. You have visualized the moment your diploma is handed to you after years and years of very hard work. You have your family gathered around for that special moment; they have been cheering you on every step of the way. Now the time has come, your goal has been achieved! Everyone is elated! Reaching this goal has been difficult, many obstacles may have stood in your way, feelings of doubt and fear that this aspiration was too much, that it was more than you bargained for… But you persevered, you jumped over the hurdles and now you stand center stage with great joy as you receive your reward for all of your hard work. Imagine, will you? That Jesus, your Lord and Savior, is the one who is handing you that treasured diploma. You have trusted Him, you have put all your faith in His instruction and guidance and there you are, face to face with His hand stretched out to yours…
That… right there… “…is the wonderful joy ahead…”
1 Peter 1:8-9…
8 “You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.”
Imagine, if you will, as we go back to the analogy about studying for your degree, what if you did all of your many years of studying by distant learning only, all of your classes and tests were done online. You never saw your instructors or heard their voices, you knew they were there to give you guidance and grade your tests, but you never saw them or spoke to them face to face. Would you give up, throw in the towel because you couldn’t see the one teaching you? No. If anything, it may cause you to work harder, to find your answers with more digging and firm determination. You may feel all alone throughout the entire journey, but you know someone is always there to help you through the difficult moments. So now it’s graduation day, you’re walking towards the stage, and look! All of your instructors standing there applauding your efforts and cheering with glorious, inexpressible joy for your endurance and success, and right in the middle of the crowd… the greatest Teacher of them all.
We may go through trials; we may have situations come up in our lives that we don’t think we can possibly get through… But we will, and we can. We must keep our eyes, our faith on the One who gives us complete Salvation. Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1 Peter 1:13-15…
13 “So, prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
When you think about Salvation… it is not just a “get out of jail free card.” It is a guarantee of living for eternity with the Father and our Savior in Heaven with an inheritance that is unimaginable! When Peter says to prepare our minds, to exercise self-control; he is pleading with us to show ourselves worthy of the name we have bestowed. We are Christians, we are Christ followers. We have a hope that exceeds anything that can be offered here in earth. We must obey the Word of the Lord! Verse 1:14b says… “Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires…” Our lives should be in constant growth toward the holiness God requires from us, we should not stay in a state of back sliding. If you find yourself not being fully engaged with what the Word of God says, or you frequently find yourself acting on your sinful desires, it’s time to stop… it is time to do as the Lord says, “You must be holy because I am holy.” When we have Christ living within us, we must be reminded of what that means… our focus must be on Jesus.
Are you ready to meet your Savior? If He were to come back today, would you stand before Him unashamed and worthy of His inheritance? Well, that’s what Salvation does… it cleanses us… we have been made BRAND NEW. Are you living as though you are brand new? Have you given the things of this world a COMPLETE purging from your life?
Every morning, you have an opportunity to work on being holy, why not start today with the mindset that the only thing that matters is how you represent the Lord in what you do and say.
~AMEN~