1 Peter 1:3-5 So Heavenly Minded We’re No Earthly Good
Good morning! We are in 1 Peter this morning, verses 3-9, page 1014 in the pew Bibles.
When we first began our study in 1 Peter, we talked a little bit about the author’s intent, what was Peter’s intent in writing this letter to the elect exiles of the dispersion, those Jewish Christians living in modern-day Turkey.
We discovered, as is written in 1 Peter 5:12 that his intent was, to: exhort and declare the grace of God and to instruct the church to stand firm in it, and in verses 3-9 we can see that purpose at work.
Peter’s purpose was to encourage the church. They had experienced and were experiencing trials and difficulties, and even greater difficulties were on the horizon. Nero was the Emperor of Rome and soon persecuting the church would be a policy of the State.
And though we face trials and difficulties at times, being burned at the stake to light the Emperor’s banquets is a long ways off for us. But that doesn’t free us from the burden of discouragement.
If Peter’s original intent was to encourage the church, that purpose remains for this letter, to encourage the church.
Let’s pray.
I am a born and bred New Englander (despite what my accent may indicate). And as a true new Englander I am intimately aware of the concept of hope, especially when it comes to the weather.
It works something like this: I hope it warms up soon so this snow will melt… I hope it doesn’t get too hot this summer… I hope this humidity breaks soon… I hope we have snow for Christmas… I hope this snow melts soon…
It’s a vicious cycle of dying hope, a constant source of discouragement.
But our text for this morning is not like that, it speaks of a living hope for our encouragement. Let’s look at it together.
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. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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. 8 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
If Peter’s intent was to encourage the church, I can’t think of a more fitting text than this to accomplish that work. If you’re in the business of designing inspirational coffee mugs and calendars this should absolutely be a go-to text for you.
Peter begins with worship. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is the One to be praised, He is worthy of praise. That is what is meant by the word, “blessed.” He is both the God of Jesus Christ and the Father of Jesus Christ. He is God to Jesus in His humanity, and He is Father to Jesus in His divinity, and He is worthy of praise.
The next phrase, according to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again…
“According to His great mercy,”
This is the expression of the Father’s great kindness to us in our need.
God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ caused us to be born again according to His great mercy, not that we deserved it or earned any good will from Him. This statement is a reminder that in our sinfulness we did not deserve to be born again but God showed great kindness to us in our great need and so He caused us to be born again.
Even the phrase, “born again,” is a great encouragement to us. It is a reminder that we have been changed from one thing to a completely different kind of thing.
Peter is remembering Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
What we were before was what Paul called in Ephesians 2:3, “children of wrath,” but according to God’s great mercy he caused us to be born again and now we are what 2 Corinthians 5:17calls, “a new creation.”
But He didn’t just cause us to be born again and then left to figure life out on our own or to cling to the empty and dying hopes of the world, left hoping that the weather is better tomorrow, According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope…
A living hope is a hope that is the opposite of the hopes of this dying world that simply seeks to make this life better for itself but still ends in death. Living hope has life in itself, it gives life, and has life as its object. That life is eternal life that is only available to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
The living hope that God the Father has caused us to be born again into is not just hope for this life. A life of faith in Jesus is not just so we can have some crutch to lean on to get us through hard times with a dying, worldly hope that things will eventually get better.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 15:19, If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people to be most pitied.
Jesus did not die and rise to life simply to make this life easier, He didn’t do all that to make us better people. Jesus died and rose again to give us a living hope beyond this world and this life.
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,
I don’t know what kind of inheritance you have waiting for you here on earth, whether it’s houses or lands or money or a sweet Kubota tractor, or what you hope to leave behind to your children or grandchildren, but the inheritance that is kept in heaven for us who have faith in the Lord Jesus is not subject to the same forces as those things.
Houses, lands, money, and property is all temporary, it won’t last forever no matter how good a care you take of it. The stuff of this earth is all tainted by sin and its effects. Just as a valuable classic car will eventually rust way to nothing so will all these other earthly things but the inheritance that is kept in heaven is unfading.
JP Lange wrote, “While here below in the strange country of our pilgrimage all possessions are insecure, the inheritance above is in the surest custody, for it is in the almighty hand of God. As it has been designed and prepared for believers from everlasting, so it is perpetually kept; and believers, on the other hand, are kept for it, so that they can in no way lose it.”
That’s what Peter means when he says, [an inheritance] 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.
Our inheritance is kept by God in heaven, it is not subject to decay and death, it is untainted by sin and its effects, and it will forever retain its wonderful character. And the same God that keeps it, keeps us.
We are guarded by God’s power, shielded, protected by the garrison through faith.
“Faith is the means in which salvation is procured and constantly kept up, acknowledging Jesus as Messiah and confidently surrendering to Him.”
It’s been said that, “It is God’s power that saves us from our enemies, and it is His patience that saves us from ourselves.”
So we are guarded by God’s power through faith, but what does it mean to be guarded for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time? Aren’t we already saved through faith in Jesus Christ?
Yes, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. There is no second salvation, there is only the completion of our salvation.
What Peter means by “the last time” is the return of Christ when this time will end, the age of the church will become the never-ending age of the Kingdom of God. Sin and death and the grave will be destroyed as will Satan and his demons. And we will take possession of our inheritance in God’s eternal kingdom.
Martin Luther wrote, “The inheritance to which you are ordained, has been acquired long since and prepared from the beginning of the world, but lies as yet concealed, covered and sealed; but in a short time, it will be opened in a moment and disclosed, so that we may see it.”
I had every intention of finishing this paragraph but I’m going to leave it there at verse five.
Brothers and sisters, there is no such thing as being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. The thoughts of what awaits us at the return of Christ should encourage our hearts and lift our spirits, reminding us that this world is not our home, we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom and children of the Heavenly King.
Next time we’ll look at how these thoughts should hold us up when we face difficulties in this life, but for now let’s beencouraged by these words…
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.
Amen.
