Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (1:3-4).
The apostle Peter is known for his impulsiveness and frequently characterized as the apostle who was often caught with his foot in his mouth, that one who had that habit of speaking his mind without thinking. And on more than one occasion his loose-tongued propensities landed him at the receiving end of the Lord’s reproofs.
From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. 22And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s,” (Matthew 16:21-23).
But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away!” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times,” (Matthew 26:33-34).
And today I was reminded of His transforming power. For God would use a former loose cannon to write on the self-control, restraint, and discipline that brings praise, glory, and honor to our Savior through faith and holy living amidst the distress of trials and persecution.
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1:6-7).
Only God! And beyond what He has done for us here, Peter reminds the believers that His gifts given on earth do not even begin to compare with what He has waiting in His Guaranteed Inheritance for His Children.
Consider His Guaranteed Inheritance for His Children
If you have ever struggled with the truth of the Trinity, which is certainly beyond our limited human intelligence to grasp, the opening of Peter’s letter shines an illuminating light of clarity on the Triune God’s work in our salvation; causing us to be born again according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit we are brought to faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, manifesting the fullness of His grace and peace in us.
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure, (1:2).
No wonder His gift of salvation is indescribable!
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15).
And while Peter has much to say on the indescribable fullness of His grace and peace being expressed in this life, Peter reminds us of the need to live with an eternal perspective; for as we cling to His Guaranteed Inheritance for His Children, we will be sustained by His power to live in holiness as we endure the persecution and trials of life.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (1:3-4).
His Inheritance is Guaranteed for His Children who have been born again through faith in Christ: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God, (John 1:12-13).
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3).
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, (Galatians 3:26).
His Inheritance is Imperishable, Guaranteed for His Children through the Imperishable Word of God: to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable…
for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God, (1:23).
His Inheritance is Undefiled, Guaranteed for His Children by the Undefiled Blood of Christ: to obtain an inheritance which is… undefiled…
knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ, (1:18-19).
His Inheritance is Unfading, Guaranteed for His Children by the Unfading Outcome of His Salvation: to obtain an inheritance which… will not fade away…
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls, (1:8-9).
His Inheritance is Reserved in Heaven, Guaranteed for His Children by His Power through faith: to obtain an inheritance which is… reserved in heaven for you
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, (1:5).
How do we respond to His Guaranteed Inheritance for His Children?
We must always begin at the beginning. Are we certain that we have been born again through faith in Christ and now bear the privilege of being named His Children?
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3).
It is only as we place our faith in the blood of Jesus that we are adopted into His family; and it is only faith in Him that Guarantees we will never be disappointed, for He has Guaranteed our Inheritance in Heaven.
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed,” (Romans 10:9-11).
Not being disappointed does not mean we will never be distressed, as these scattered believers could surely attest. But when we fix our minds on the trials, we lose sight of His promise. Oh, that we would lift our eyes and hearts in faith to take hold of the promise of His Guaranteed Inheritance for His Children, Reserved for us in Heaven, not by our own works by the One Who Is Able and Faithful to keep us until the end.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen, (Jude 1:24-25).
But because our minds are so notoriously prone to wander, we must be purposeful in training our thought-life as we wait for His Guaranteed Inheritance.
Peter, who may have known this better than anyone, reminds us of the critical need to prepare our mind in order to walk in the self-control, restraint, and discipline of holy obedience to bring praise, glory, and honor to our Savior.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy,” (1:13-16).
Oh, that would never let a day pass without preparing our thought-life for action, that we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we spend intimate time together with Him in His Word.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will, (Romans 12:2).
Let us trust Him to faithfully renew our minds through His Imperishable Word and grow us in the likeness of our Savior to walk in Undefiled Obedience, that in the midst of our momentary afflictions of this life, we would keep our eyes fixed on the certainty of the Unfading Outcome of His Guaranteed Inheritance for His Children.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal, (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)