Chapter 5

1  Peter

Salvation: Our Living Hope [Part 2]

1 Peter 1:4-5[1]

[Slide 2] We are in 1 Peter 1 . . . Last time I pointed out to that there are a number of words that Peter uses that are very strong—words such as Chosen/Election, Mercy, Called, and the Gk word ἵνα, in English ‘so that’. 

! I.     [Slide 3] Power Words

A.     Suffering

There is another word that Peter uses that we need to be familiar with.  It is the word ‘suffering’ [παθήματα], it occurs some 15xs.[2]

In its first usage it is tied to the abuses leading up to the crucifixion—1:11ESV Prophets “inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.”

The second usage comes in 2:19-21.  From the New Living Testament: 19 For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment.20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. 21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.[3]

The problem of suffering grief in the workplace, the public forum, and even the home motivates Peter to explain why suffering grief for being a Christian should not be surprising but to be expected as a normal part of Christian life. [4]

B.    Submission

Another power word that we should take note of is the word submission.  It occurs 6xs in various forms.  It’s first usage is in 2:13ESV Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,

I don’t want us to miss this . . . For the Spirit of God, submissive acceptance of the demands of every authority instituted among men is expected.  What is striking is the context of this statement.  Nero, the Roman Emperor was on the throne, and the Spirit of God still sees Rome as appointed by God for the maintenance of moral values (So Rom. 13:1–7; 1 Tim. 2:1–2). Christians must give Caesar what is his due (Mt. 22:21) and there is no hint of any exceptions here.[5]

II.   [Slide 4] General Context

Remember Peter is writing from a Roman prison to people who have chosen to follow Christ in the providences of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia . . . located in modern Turkey.  

• It is possible that many of these Christians have been expelled from Rome . . . with disruptive events beyond their control, there is this sense of total helplessness and hopelessness.
• Moreover, since wealth and inheritance were most often vested in land in the first-century world, a displacement from one’s homeland meant that whatever property one stood to inherit would be of uncertain benefit, if any. Thus, the loss of inheritance and family rights could lead directly to feelings of hopelessness.
• Just being a Christians affected social status. It may even have jeopardized their inheritance as members of pagan families, much as some Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish families today disinherit a family member who converts to Christianity. Such experiences may understandably result in feelings of hopelessness.

In case you missed it, There are no commandments in the first verses of this letter. No demands or requirements or directions. What Peter is doing here is not telling us what to do but telling us what to enjoy. He is not exhorting, he is exulting.[6]

Peter explains to these socially alienated Christians that though they be rejected by society because of their commitment to Christ . . . they are in fact chosen by God and fully entitled to the promise and inheritance of his kingdom.[7]

For Peter, what one believes about their salvation and their future shapes how they live in the present moment and how they relate to the world around them.[8]  And have ‘living hope’ [v3], provides incentive for persevering in faith when the attractions of the world tempt us to deny our relationship of being in Christ.

III.  [Slide 5] Brief Review

Last time we looked at v3, and concentrated on 3 things:

• God’s great mercy—it is not that we earn what he is giving, but that we receive what he is giving.
• What has God giving?  We saw that he gives ‘new birth’, and he gives new birth because we are spiritually dead.  A new birth that comes as a result of God’s great mercy
• The third thing that we noted was that when one is born anew, he/she is marked by a ‘living hope’.  This ‘living hope’ is living because Jesus is living, and is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

IV. [Slide 6] A Life of Confidence

At the end of his letter, Peter spells out why he wrote this letter: I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. [1 Peter 5:12 (NLT)][9]

This morning we are going to be encouraged by three great truths:

§         What we have been guaranteed

§         What we have been promised

A.     [Slide 7] | Inheritance (2817) (kleronomia from kleros = lot + némo = give or distribute) is literally that which is distributed by lot and so refers to a portion which one receives by lot in a general distribution and then, in a more general sense means to possess oneself of, to receive as one's own, to obtain. In other words it can refer to a property already received as well as one that is expected.  Although kleronomia is an inheritance which one receives by lot, in the NT the idea of chance associated with the lot is not found. |

What we have been guaranteed

That brings us to vs4-5.  In v3 we looked at “what we have

been given,” here in the v4 Peter tells us ‘what we have been guaranteed.’  We have been guaranteed . . . an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1.     Our inheritance

For starters we should realize that inheritances are not earned as much as we would like to think otherwise.  We do not earn an inheritance.  We receive it as a result of the generosity of the previous generation.  Inheritance is something that is given.  So as ‘Followers of Christ’ we are going to inherit something that will never fade.

When we think of inheritance, many of think of John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions . . .”   Then there is that song

I'm satisfied with just a cottage below
A little silver and a little gold
But in that city where the ransomed will shine
I want a gold one that's silver lined

Don't think me poor or deserted or lonely
I'm not discouraged I'm heaven bound
I'm but a pilgrim in search of a city
I want a mansion, a harp and a crown[10]

Is that what Peter is talking about? I hope I don’t disappoint anybody, but our inheritance is not wrapped up in mansions, gold streets, thrones, crowns, robes and spender. 

Our inheritance is not wrapped in a package . . . but a person. Ultimately our inheritance is to . . .

§         see Jesus and to be made like him. 

§         to be able to have a face to face dialogue with the risen Christ,

§         to actually feel his gaze,

§         to hear his voice,

§         to spend time in his company

Ber­nard of Clair­vaux, a hymn writer of the 12th century, in his great hymn, “Jesus the Very Thought of Thee” put it this way:

Jesus, our only joy be Thou,

As Thou our prize wilt be;
Jesus, be Thou our Glory now,

And thru eternity.[11]

So this morning, as a follower of Christ, what ever is on your mind, whatever troubles you are passing thru, know this, you have been given a new birth, it is a fact, and you are guaranteed an inheritance. 

It is not in the stock market, it is not going to fluctuate with an announcement by Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or who President Elect Obama appoints to office . . .

Look at how it is described . . . v4, three descriptive terms: imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It cannot be engineered or spoiled. 

a)     [Click] | Imperishable (862) (aphthartos  from a = negates what follows + phtheiro = to corrupt)  means nothing can corrupt or ruin, not liable to pass away, not subject to corruption, decay or dissolution and so imperishable. Absolutely nothing can ruin your eternal inheritance beloved.  |

 Imperishable

The first adjective that Peter uses is ‘imperishable’.  This word appears 7xs in our Scriptures. [12]

My Grandfather loved potatoes . . .  he would plant acres and acres . . . before fancy machines . . . he would hire a bunch of us . . . as this machine came down the potato row, it would dig them up, shake them like a cat on a mouse, then drop them on the ground.  Us potato pickers than would come in behind and pick fill wooden crates, then a wagon would come and we would load it down, then off to the potato cellar . . . a building that he had built into the ground . . . where we would store bushels of potatoes for the winter market.  The building was always dark and damp . . . and a little musty . . . then during the winter we take orders, and fill crates for Saturday market . . . but as Winter faded and Spring arrived the mountain of potato’s would shrink, and as you got to the bottom, potatoes once solid and good eating had now become mush, and rotten smell would begin to fill the storage cellar.

Listen, the inheritance that he has laid up for us cannot be spoiled. He is not keeping potatoes in heaven for us.  Our inheritance will never ever turn to mush.  It will never ever smell of rot.

b)     [Click] Undefiled

The second word that Peter uses to describe our inheritance is the world undefiled.[13]  The notion here is that our inheritance is unstained. 

When we moved into our house 10 yrs ago, the family that we bought it from had gone to great lengths to put in a soft whitish carpet.  A couple of years went by, and one day my wife said to me . . . “get this carpet out of here.  I don’t care what is underneath, I just don’t want this carpet.”  No matter how much we ‘yelled’ at each other, invariably someone [most often me] would come running thru with mud or grease on my shoes]. Judy always new . . . and I began to get a great distaste for that carpet. 

Our inheritance, waiting for us in heaven, can not be stained, no matter how long it sits in storage.  There it is . . . the heavenly cleaning crew can not tamper with it, spill chemicals on it, dent it, mark it.  It is unstainable.

c)     [Click] | Will not fade away (263) (amarantos from a = negates what follows + maraíno = to fade, dry up, wither) and thus literally "unfading". It was a word found on several tombstone inscriptions, which will fade away, but not our inheritance in Christ. Our inheritance will not lose its pristine quality or character.   |

 Unfading

The 3rd word that Peter uses to describe our inheritance is unfading.[14]

Every so often I go to Dominicks and pickup some fresh flowers for my wife.  They are beautiful when I first bring them home.  But after a week goes by the colors seem to fade . . . after two weeks the stem begins to bend and the leaves get brown spots, the pedals of the flowers begin to fall off.

Our inheritance blooms continually.  There is never a time that the pedals fall, the leaves turn brown, the stem droops.  In Ten thousand eternities the luster will be like the first day we set our eyes on it.

2.      [Click] | Reserved (5083) (tereo from teros - a guard or warden) (4 more times in 2 Peter) means to keep an eye on, keep something in view, to attend carefully, or to watch over it. Tereo speaks of guarding something which is in one’s possession. It means to watch as one would some precious thing. The idea is to observe attentively, to keep watch over and to retain in custody.  |

 Reserved in heaven for you

Our inheritance, its not being bashed around in storage, nobody is spilling things on it, nobody is messing it up, nobody is tampering with it, it is there with your name on it, it will not be given to anyone else.

Let's just assume for the sake of argument that you and Rex Grossman are old schoolmates and the Chicago Bears just happen to be playing in the SuperBowl, Feb 1 in Tampa Bay. You could wait in line for hours at the box office or stay on hold with Ticketron, or else your buddy Rex could hold two tickets for you at the gate. On the day of the SuperBowl, you would proceed directly to a special section of the box office known as the 'will call' window. Your tickets from Sir Rex should already be waiting for you.

So it is with our inheritance, it is waiting at Heaven Gates ‘Will Call’ window

• untouched by death,
• unstained by evil, and
• unimpaired by time
• It will always be new
• It will never decay
• Never to be withdrawn

In somewhat different vain, in 2 Peter 3:7, Peter declares that "the present heavens and earth by His word are (continuously) being reserved for fire, kept (tereo) for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

On the day of judgment of ungodly men, the Great White Throne judgment which will occur at the close of the Millennium, at which time the wicked dead, fallen angels, and demons will be judged, to be sent to an eternity of suffering, banished from the presence of a holy God (see Revelation 20:11ff)

B.    [Slide 8] What we have been promised

That brings us to v5, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [15]

It’s a long drive to Mebane, NC. According to Google Maps it is 784 miles, or about 12 hrs and 54 minutes. But Google Maps now has another feature . . . walking . . . if you want to walk from here to there, it is 756 miles, or about 10 days and 8 hours of walk time.  Then they give this note: This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths!.

As often as I have driven it . . . there is always a stretch in there where you begin to wonder, ‘will we ever get there?’

[Click] That’s v5, not only have you been given a new birth, not only have you been guaranteed an inheritance, but 3rdly, you are being guarded and kept . . . who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Peter answers the question, ”Of what use is it that salvation is ‘reserved’ for us in heaven, when we’re being tossed “to and fro” on earth, and everywhere we look there are a thousand shipwrecks.  Just like our inheritance is locked away in safe keeping, where neither moth, rust, nor thieves[16] can get to, but I too am being guarded to be sure of reaching it.

[Click] My inheritance is not only guaranteed, but I am guaranteed to getting there! "We are guarded in the world as our inheritance is kept in heaven."

§         So Moses, after killing a man and fleeing for his life to the back side of ‘nowhere’ . . . where as far as you could see was dry dirt and the unrelenting heat of the sun

§         So Samson, whose passions ran a-muck, ending with his eyes gone, and hearing the jeering mockery of the Philistines.

§         So David, whose passions ran a-muck, killing one of his top supports to have his wife.

§         So Peter, boasting about his bravery and fearless confession, runs weeping into the darkness.

Guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

"It is His power which saves us from our enemies.

It is His long-suffering which saves us from ourselves” [17]

It is the same word in Philippians 4:7(ESV) the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The picture is of a solider standing at the gate . . . no one enters.  They have to go thru him. The power of God which guards the believer.

Isaiah 43:1-3, 5: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; . . . you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. . . . Fear not, for I am with you.[18]

This guarding is not for a temporary goal, but for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  What does Peter mean, when he says we are "protected [from losing our final salvation] by the power of God through faith"?

It means that God's power protects us for salvation by sustaining our faith. The only thing that can keep us from heaven is forsaking our faith in Christ, and turning to other hopes, other treasures.

So to protect us God prevents that. He inspires and nourishes and strengthens and builds our faith. And in doing this he secures us against the only thing that could destroy us; unbelief, lack of trust in God.[19]

Our security is in God's infallible commitment to fulfill the conditions of heaven.  As our grandson would say: ‘That’s really good that you do that”

V.   Point of Action

Peter turns our eyes toward God and toward the shed blood of His Son, in whom we have not only forgiveness of sins, but victory in Christ. We were not saved merely to cope with life; we were called to be conquerors in Christ. We are overcomers, especially in the trials and tribulations of life.

Let me close with an experience that Peter had.

On the night when Peter betrayed Jesus, the Lord said to him, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat [in other words to press Peter through a sieve of temptation to try to strain out his faith]; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31–32).

Jesus prayed that Peter's faith not fail utterly. That is why Peter wept bitterly and returned from his sin.

§         But to whom did Jesus pray? To God, his Father.

§         And what did he ask the Father to do? To not let Peter's faith come to an end.

§         So who forged the link of faithfulness in Peter that awful night? God the Father.

§         And who brought him back from the precipice of unbelief and gave him tears of remorse? God the Father did.

My point is,

Peter knows first hand what he is talking about. Those who are born of God "are protected by the power of God through faith"—through God's sustaining their faith—for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. He caused us to be born again by creating our faith; and he protects us on the way to heaven by preserving our faith.

Therefore it is gloriously and invincibly secure. We have a great God and a great salvation![20]

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . . .

1) mercy, the undeserved favor of God the Father—v. 3a
2) caused to be born again—v. 3b
3) to a living hope—v. 3c
4) a guaranteed inheritance in heaven—v. 4
5) kept by God’s power—v. 5

[Click]

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me,
Thy great salvation so rich and free.

----

[1] Chuck Swindoll, Hope in Hurtful Times (Fullerton, CA: Insight for Living, 1989); Drew Worthen, 1 Peter http://www.cyberstreet.com/calvary/1Peter.htm  William D. Mounce, Greek For The Rest of Us, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing) pp. 63-71, 74-77; John MacArthur, Our Great Salvation: 1 Peter 1:3-12, (Panorama City, CA: Grace To You,1990).  John MacArthur, “Chosen From Eternity” [Part 1-3] http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg60-2.htm; John Piper, “Election”  http://www.desiringgod.org/ ResourceLibrary/ ScriptureIndex/4/1818_Divine_Election_The_Role_of_the_Father_and_the_Spirit/; Scott McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 Peter (Grand Rapids, MI: Zoncervan, 1996).  Howard Marshall, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: 1 Peter,  Downers Grove: IL; InterVarsity Press, 1991.  John W. Ritenbaugh - Forerunner Commentary http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/ Topical.show/RTD/CGG/ID/1610/Protection.htm

[2] 1 Peter 1:11; 2:19, 21, 23; 3:14, 17; 4:1, 13, 15, 16, 19; 5:1, 9, 10,

[3] Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

[4]Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 45.

[5]Ibid., 1 Pet 2:13.

[6] John Piper, “The Elect Are Kept by the Power of God, ” http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary /Sermons/ByScripture/4/851_The_Elect_Are_Kept_by_the_Power_of_God/

[7]Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 38.

[8]Ibid., 49.

[9]Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

[10] George Morgan Mansion Over The Hilltop Lyrics

[11]Ber­nard of Clair­vaux, Jesus the Very Thought of Thee,  http://joyfulministry.org/thoughtt.htm

[12] Thayer's Greek Lexicon.  Romans 1:23: "the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to" ;1 Corinthians 9:25: "crown; but we an incorruptible." 1 Corinthians 15:52: "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Timothy 1:17: "unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God," 1 Peter 1:4: "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved" 1 Peter 1:23: "corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth" 1 Peter 3:4: "of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,"

[13]Thayer's Greek Lexicon.  Hebrews 7:26: "us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and" Hebrews 13:4: "and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers" James 1:27: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father" 1 Peter 1:4: "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in"

[14] Thayer's Greek Lexicon.  Used only here.

[15]The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001.

[16] Matthew 6:19-21(ESV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[16] John 10:8

[17]Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 1 Pe 1:5.

[18] He does not guarantee to cover our foolishness when we put ourselves into potentially dangerous situations. He abhors being tempted—tested—as if He needs to prove Himself and His power to us. Psalm 78 shows His distaste for the Israelites' constant testing of Him in the wilderness. The last thing He desires is for members of His church to follow their example of unbelief (see Hebrews 3:7 through 4:2; John W. Ritenbaugh - Forerunner Commentary).

[19] John Piper, “The Elect Are Kept by the Power of God, ” http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary /Sermons/ByScripture/4/851_The_Elect_Are_Kept_by_the_Power_of_God/

[20] John Piper, “The Elect Are Kept by the Power of God, ” http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary /Sermons/ByScripture/4/851_The_Elect_Are_Kept_by_the_Power_of_God/ For more on the preserving power of God in the life of the believer see 1 Peter 4:19; 5:10; John 6:37–39; 10:27–30; 1 Corinthians 1:8–9; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–25; 2 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 13:20–21; 1 John 2:19.