1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV Strong's)
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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Kept by God’s Power Through Faith
Peter is well aware of the persecution happening to the church. He has experienced it, personally. He is well aware of what is coming upon those he is writing to in this letter. He wants to give them some assurance for their lives. He wants to motivate them to continue to live as the people of God. To accomplish this he begins this letter of encouragement and instruction with the above passage. He tells them they have been “born again to a living hope THROUGH the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” We have a hope because He rose from the dead. That hope, Peter goes on to write, provides us an “inheritance” that is:
1. Imperishable - it is secured by His resurrection and can never be destroyed.
2. Undefiled- it is pure and without flaw by the person of Jesus Christ.
3. Unfading - it is sustained by His power (see below)
4. Kept in heaven - it is yet to be realized.
The key to these section of verses, however, is in verse five:
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We are not “keeping” this imperishable, undefiled, unfading, reserved in heaven inheritance. He is!! It is by His power that we are kept for this awesome gift. We are being kept by the faith we have in the power of God to keep us. It is not by our works or ally good deeds. It is by faith in the resurrection of Christ that gives us hope and sustains us for the gift of the inheritance of eternal life. NOT by our performance, but by our faith in HIS performance on the cross.
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