1Pe 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1Pe 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and
for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
1Pe 1:3 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,
1Pe 1:4 to an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 who by God's power are being guarded through
faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
As
you may recall last week we covered verses 1 and 2 and we learned a little
about who Peter was and who he was writing to and why. Peter wrote this epistle to people just like
you and I; people who are servants of God, who have believed in Jesus and are
in this world, perhaps enduring hardships, feeling like a stranger, but looking
forward to a mansion just over the hilltop. Looking forward to a permanent
place, where Jesus Himself, has prepared for us.
But
for now we are strangers in this world and the Jews that Peter was writing to
were living in persecution, exiled to strange lands with people who were not
like them. They were surrounded by people of different cultures, different
religions, perhaps even different languages or dialects that they didn’t
understand and even having idols that they worshipped. They had been stripped
of their physical inheritance, their land and their homes.
I shared with you last week that I recently
took a vacation. We went to Quebec City in Canada. We were quick to realize
that we were no longer in the states as making a simple purchase in a discount
store quickly became a frustrating lack of communication between me and the
cashier who spoke no English. A friendly lady behind us became a translator and
we finally figured out that the store can’t accept an American debit card. When
you are in a strange land even simple things can become a trial and a
challenge. We had several small issues similar to that as we tried to order
dinner at restaurants and things like that. But our real challenge came when we
were stranded with a flat tire in an area that almost only spoke French. Trying
to find a garage, use the phone and things like that were frustrating and my
patience was tested. We finally made it to an open garage and thought we were
well on our way to recovery but try to explain to someone who doesn’t speak a
word of your language that you need a flat tire repaired. It is not as easy as
it sounds. They were not exactly pleasant about the fact that I did not speak
their language. Some people that we encountered actually showed disdain at us
for not speaking French. I was quickly reminded of a statement that I hear
often and have even said myself. If they can’t speak the language they should
go home. That day I became much more tolerant and determined to not get so
frustrated with my customers who speak Hindu or Spanish.
These
were Jews scattered in a land that was not their own and had to deal with the
challenges that come with that, which included much more persecution than we
may have encountered in Canada. We were able to have some fun with it and knew
we were going back to the states in a few days. They were not. They were not
there on vacation. They had lost their inheritance and were just trying to live
a life pleasing to God and suffering persecution for it.
So,
it is interesting that immediately after Peter’s introduction to an epistle
written for those who are going through such challenges that his next phrase is
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter here is not just
offering a doxology to God. It is written more as an imperative. In the
original the word “be” does not exist. So Peter is in essence saying… Bless
God.
Peter,
knowing that he was writing to persecuted Christians, is telling them, or us,
that we should be praising and adoring God. Peter is reminding them that they
may have lost their worldly inheritance but they have gained a far better
inheritance. Let me encourage you today that you may have given up your worldly
inheritance. You may have no tangent possessions left in this World, but you
have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you. No matter how difficult this life is, no matter how much may
have been taken away from you, wait patiently and praise God for the
inheritance He has promised you.
Let’s
read our text again…
1Pe 1:3 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
(we get to live this hope now!!) through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (We would have no hope if it weren’t for Jesus, not just that He lived
and died on the cross, but because He arose from the dead.)
1Pe 1:4 to an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 who by God's power are being guarded through
faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Let’s
take a few minutes to talk about this inheritance. As verse 5 says…our
salvation is our inheritance and it will be revealed in the last time. Perhaps
you are saying to yourself…”Wait a minute; I thought I already had salvation. I
was saved back in 1977, I remember the day. Let me give you a little example of
what Peter was writing about.
I
have a granddaughter; her name is Haleigh, who is almost 4 years old. She is
smart as can be and even cuter than she is smart. Let’s say I have a million
dollars in a bank account that is hers as an inheritance from Cindy and me. If
I sat down and told her about it now she would have no idea what that meant.
She wouldn’t even really understand what that much money could do. Her world is
happy if she can get a chocolate milk and fries from McDonalds. Now as she
begins to grow older she would begin to understand a little more about money
and that having a lot is desirable. And as she becomes a young adult she is
excited about the prospect of having a million dollars and has probably already
figured out what she is going to spend it on. Maybe even secretly getting
excited about Grammsy and PopPop getting older because she knows the time to
receive her inheritance is drawing closer. But she doesn’t truly know what it
will be like until that money is in her hands. It won’t be revealed until she
actually receives the inheritance.
Yes,
we were saved, we are being saved and we will be saved, but as of right now we
have only experienced the first two. As we grow up spiritually we begin to
understand little by little what our inheritance really means. As we grow up
and mature we begin to really understand that we are children of God and that
the even though we can’t completely understand it now we begin to have faith
that the inheritance is a real thing. It is something to be looked forward to,
something to get excited about.
Our
inheritance is our full and final salvation that will be revealed in the last
time.
The
word salvation here means rescue or deliverance. We have not yet been fully
rescued from this world. Our inheritance, our full and final salvation is us
being delivered from the curse of the law. We have already been saved from the
penalty of sin but we get to look forward to being saved from the power of sin,
the presence of sin, from the temptation of sin, the grief of sin, the pain of
sin, saved from all death, all punishment, all judgment and all wrath. We will
be completely, fully, forever delivered from sin and judgment. That is our
ultimate eternal inheritance. That is why we should be blessing the Lord as
Peter is saying.
Paul
said in 1 Thessalonians that Jesus is who delivers us from the wrath to come.
We are to look to the future for our joy and our hope; when we are united with
our Lord and Savior sharing in the inheritance that is going to be even more
than you can imagine.
Mat 25:34 Then the King will
say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
What
an honor and reason to praise God. That was Peter’s goal. To encourage
strangers in a strange land that they still have a reason to praise God. I
don’t know about you but when things get rough, I have matured enough that I
don’t blame God and can even pray to God for help, but I need a reminder from
time to time that God is God and worthy of my praise no matter what.
My situation does not change who
God is, or lessen His worthiness for praise.
Let’s pray…
Father, we
thank You for the way in which You have revealed to us Your love, generosity
and Your goodness. We thank You for the absolutely unending and eternal mercies
which You have given to us, that we have done nothing in which to deserve. And
we want to come to You in praise. We want to come to You in adoration. We want
to thank You for the gift that You have given to us. We praise You, Lord, for
our eternal inheritance, for our salvation; past, present and future. We thank
you for giving us hope beyond this world to look forward to.
And, Lord, we pray that our praise would
go beyond Sunday morning. That it would go beyond once or twice a week. We
pray, Lord, that it might stay with us so that we remember day in and day out
to offer You our praise. Father, that we would live and breathe praise and
worship to You in all that we do. And, Lord, if there is any part of our hearts,
ingratitude, discontent, or any part of us that rejects or resists praise to
You, forgive us and cleanse us, fill our hearts with joy, contentment and
submission.
Lord, help us to be faithful to give
to You what You are due, no matter how deep the trouble, no matter how anxious
our hearts, may we be filled with praise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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