1 PETER 1: 3-6 [Renewing Hope Series]
A LIVING HOPE
[ Mark 16:1-8 ]
The power with which Peter aims to equip these beleaguered saints is the power of hope. [If they, or we, are going to live and love like Jesus commands us, even in times of great stress and worry, then they, and we, must be filled with "living hope."] Peter’s letter has been called the gospel of hope. A great characteristic of the Christian life is that we live in hope. Christian hope sustains in the midst of difficulties, for hope is born out of full confidence, belief, and trust in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Living in the light and life of Jesus’ resurrection does not exempt us from life’s evils, ills and tribulations. Yet resurrection hope does diminish the debilitating power of distressing trials. We thus can not only endure, but live victoriously as we experience the life and joy of Christ which is a foretaste of glory divine.
The Living Christ is the source of our new birth and our living hope. If you have a living hope in the living Christ you can deal with your past failures and present difficulties because of your future blessings (CIT). God’s glorious best for you lies ahead. Anticipating what God has in store for us can release joy in our soul and put a smile on our face. Hope gives us confidence and lets us live with inner strength for we know that one day we will be radically different than we are now.
I’ve divided the message into three parts:
I. A LIVING HOPE (3).
II. A FUTURE HOPE (4).
III. A PRESENT HOPE (5-6).
Peter penned these words about 30 years after Christ’s death and resurrection. He was writing to encourage the persecuted Christians of Asia Minor. Peter addresses those who are feeling discouraged, displaced, depressed, or in danger, and tells them that they need to take hold of their living hope through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1st, A LIVING HOPE.
Peter begins the main body of his letter in verse 3 with praise for the wonder of salvation. “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,”
God “has caused us to be born again to a living hope.” The “new birth” results in a living hope. This “living hope” is based on the living resurrected Christ (1 Peter 1:21). The Living Christ is the source of our new birth and of our living hope.
What is a living hope? What is the hope we now have, that only the resurrection of Jesus Christ can give us? A living hope is a hope that never dies. Isn’t that thought- a hope that never dies- a most blessed? This hope is like living waters flowing from a perennial spring which never runs dry. Such hope springs from the very fountain of God Himself. [See my -Dennis Davidson’s- sermon, A HOPE THAT NEVER DIES. SermonCentral.com]
The Christian’s hope in Christ is as certain and sure as the fact that Christ is alive! Here “living” means that the believer’s hope is sure, certain, and real, as opposed to the deceptive, empty, false hope the world offers. [Peter used the word “living” six times (1:3, 23; 2:4-5; 4:5-6).]
Christian believers have a living hope because Jesus is alive. Our hope is based on the solid evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. The Bible tells us that over 500 people witnessed the resurrected Christ, including the disciples, and Paul himself (1 Cor. 15: ). Seeing the resurrect Christ changed their lives.
Those who have been born again have a living hope through their new life in Christ. This constantly living hope is that death is not the end.
A man had A CHECKUP and then went in to see his doctor to get the results. The doctor said he better sit down – that he had bad news and worse news for him. Then the Doctor asked the man, “Which do you want to hear first?” The man was a bit puzzled and said he'd rather hear the bad news first. The doctor said, "The bad news is that you have only 24 hours to live." When he heard that, the man jumped up, totally shocked. He paced back and forth and said, "24 hours to live? I can't possibly get my affairs in order that quickly. I can't believe this! What could be possibly be worse news than this?" The doctor said, "The worse news is that I was supposed to tell you this yesterday, but I forgot."
Death is certain, but so is the Christian’s hope of eternal life. The Christian’s hope in Christ is as certain and sure as the fact that Christ is alive!
Because Jesus arose from the grave we know that Death is not the end. We know evil does not win. We know God forgives. We know the blood cleanses and protects. We know new life is an option. We know a better tomorrow is coming
For much of recorded history, many have been unsure of whether there is really life after death. Even today, many claim that this life is all there is. They think at the end of this life we become worm food. But, because Jesus rose, we now have a hope in the certainty that one-day we too will rise again, that we too will live again. The Bible calls Jesus “the Firstborn from the dead.” My friends, we also will rise, because He arose. [“Up from the grave He arose. With a mighty triumph o’r His foes. He arose the victor from the dark domain and He lives forever on His throne to reign. He arose. He arose. Hallelujah Christ arose.”]
Because of Jesus’ resurrection we have a certain hope that even if we die, one day we will live again. Not only do we have a Living Hope, we have
II. A FUTURE HOPE (4).
Our hope includes the promise of a better tomorrow – verse 4. “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
My friends, we have a promise not only of living again, but also of a better tomorrow. We have the hope of a future inheritance. Here is another certainty. We will die, and we will gain a better inheritance. This heavenly inheritance is better than any and everything this world has to offer. This inheritance is “imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for” us. It is kept in heaven for those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
In the classic novel Little Lord Fauntleroy, a young boy LIVING IN DEEP POVERTY with his mother in America learns that his father was a member of British noble family. The boy's grandfather sends for him, and the boy soon finds himself living in a fine estate in England. He is also the heir to the estate which includes the title of lord.
This is our story as believers. Through Jesus Christ, we have gone from having nothing to having everything: new life, new hope, and an eternal inheritance in heaven that nothing can destroy.
People who have an inheritance are called heirs. But being an heir only has value if the person leaving the inheritance has something of value to give. We're so blessed there because the Bible says we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). This means that all that God has is ours!
Heaven itself is part of that inheritance, our future home where all that is wrong on earth will be set right and we will enjoy God's presence forever.
How did we ever get in on something so good? Because God is so good. Though it cost Him what He valued most, the life of His dear sinless Son who died for our sins to make us His heirs. Jesus paid the price for our salvation on the cross, and His resurrection guaranteed that someday we will come into our full inheritance in heaven.
Here on earth, estates can change in value over time, or even lose value. Buildings and other property that are part of an inheritance can become rundown if they're not maintained.
But there are no such problems with our inheritance in heaven. Peter used three distinct terms to get his point across. The things that God has in store for those who love Him will never "perish, spoil or fade." That is, our inheritance can't be destroyed, it won't decay like a piece of overripe fruit, and it won't fade like an old shirt that's been washed too many times. Even though the Christian life often includes fiery trials (vv. 6-7), the outcome is assured in Christ.
[Three terms are combined to describe the permanence of our inheritance’s: can never perish (aphtharton, indestructable, Rom. 1:23), spoil (amianton, unpolluted and fresh), or fade (amaranton, remains bright and vibrant). The Last Supper, the great masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci. Thousands of dollars are being spent in an attempt to restore some of the fading colors. Even the greatest of masterpieces ultimately fade. But the heavenly inheritance that our Lord provides for us will never fade. This inheritance is as indestructible as God’s Word (1:23, aphtharton- same word again used) ]
Being co-heirs with Jesus Christ means we have an inheritance reserved or kept in heaven (Gal. 5:5) that's beyond anything we can imagine (1 Cor. 2:9-10). Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you.” What a place heaven will be. What a time that will be! That calls for praise on our part, doesn't it?
This afternoon would be a good time to recall one or two of your favorite hymns or choruses and sing or recite them to the Lord as your expression of thanksgiving. And if you need a hymn book to help you, it would be a wonderful addition to your devotional material.
[So our Christian hope allows us to see our future in the most positive of ways (1 Cor. 2:9-10) and so it should produces the most positive results in our present life.
Several years ago PARADE MAGAZINE carried the story of the self-made millionaire Eugene Land and how he greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Land had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. He thought to himself, “What can I say to make a difference in the lives of these students, most of whom would eventually drop out of school?” He wondered how he could get these kids from broken homes in this slum neighborhoods to even look at him.
When he arrived at the school and stood before the class of innocent faces he scrapped his notes and decided to speak to them from his heart.
"Stay in school," he admonished, "and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you." At that moment the lives of these students changed forever. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, "I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling." Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school!
That’s the power of hope! And what God offers you is more fabulous than anything even a millionaire can offer you!]
Not only do we have a Living Hope, & A Future Hope, we have -
III. A PRESENT HOPE (5-6).
Because of our Living Hope we can place our faith in God’s protection, as verse 5 teaches. “who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Not only is the inheritance guarded, but heirs who have been born into that inheritance are shielded by God’s power. “Shielded” (phrouroumenous) is a military term, used to refer to a garrison within a city [Phil. 4:7 uses the same Greek word].
God has promised to shield us with His power as we walk in faith with Him. What greater hope could be given to those undergoing persecution than the knowledge that God’s power guards them from within, to preserve them for an inheritance of salvation that will be completely revealed to them in God’s presence. Believers possess salvation now (Pres tense) but will experience its full significance at the return of Christ in the last time. This final step, or ultimate completion of “the salvation of their souls” (1 Peter 1:9), will come “when Jesus Christ is revealed,” (vv 7, 13). [Walvoord, John & Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, S. 841]
Note, we are kept by the power of God. It’s not us holding on to Him. It’s Him holding on to us. “Hold on to Daddy’s hand,” I would say to my kids as we crossed the street. And they would. But if, out of forgetfulness or fatigue, they loosened their grip, it wouldn’t matter because, although they thought they were holding my hand, in reality, I was holding theirs, and I would never let go.
So, too, we think we’re holding on to the Lord, but in reality, He’s holding on to us. We’re protected by His power.
A young man who was being HAZED by a college fraternity was taken to a secluded spot where he was told to hold on to a knot at the end of a greased rope as his fraternity brothers lowered him into a dark well. Thinking they would pull him up after a few minutes, he was terrified to see them tie their end of the rope to the bar across the top of the well, leaving him suspended in midair.
This can’t be! he thought as he called for help. But none came. As he approached the fifteen-minute mark, his arms aching unbelievably, and his shoulders feeling as though they were on fire, he started to cry. Finally, after about twenty-five tortuous minutes, able to hang on no longer, he let go—and fell two inches—just as his fraternity brothers had calculated.
Isn’t that just like us? “Where are You, God? I don’t know if I’m going to make it,” we cry. We fret, blubber, and scream until we finally let go. And guess what we find. We discover that our Solid Rock, Jesus Christ, was there all along.
A bunch of us have burning shoulders and aching arms for absolutely no reason. We’re trying to hang on through our own efforts, by our own spirituality. We get disgusted with ourselves and worried we’re not going to make it. If we would just let go of the rope and rest in what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary, we would realize it’s not our puny efforts that will see us through, but the power of God.
This is what Peter is telling the believers who, no doubt, were wondering if, when the temperature rose and persecution came down, they would be able to hang in there.
“I want you to know,” Peter said. “You have an inheritance waiting for you that can’t be taken from you. You are kept by the power of God, and He is committed to seeing you through. All that remains for you to do is believe.” [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, S. 1543]
Verse 6 indicates that a living hope also results in a present joy. “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,”
In this likely refers to the truths mentioned in verses 3-5. Peter encouraged his readers to put their knowledge into practice. Their response, if they truly grasped the tremendous theological truths taught so far, is that they would greatly rejoice. Knowledge alone cannot produce the great joy in the face of persecution. Christians are responsible to respond in faith. Faith turns sound doctrine into sound practice. Faith acts on the content of theology and produces conduct that corresponds to that content. Faith makes theological security experiential. The Apostle John wrote, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). This kind of faith enable by our living hope can cause believers to rejoice even when they are called on to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
Peter is stressing that a Christian’s joy is independent of circumstances. [James used the same two Greek words (poikilois peirasmois, “all kinds of trials”)]. The trials themselves are seen as occasions for joy (James 1:2). Though trials may cause temporary grief, they cannot diminish that deep, abiding joy which is rooted in one’s living hope in Christ Jesus. [Walvoord & Zuck, p. 841]
Notice that the verse says “if necessary you have been distressed.” Suffering is necessary. The person who suffers will grow stronger if he is attentive to what the Lord is saying. I can personally testify that I I could have done without many joyful experiences, but I couldn't have done without the spiritual lessons I learned from sorrow. C. S. Lewis said, "God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.” The Lord sometimes must force us by means of distresses to pay attention to His voice. While such times of testing aren't pleasant, We must wait patiently for Him to accomplish His purposes. If we refuse to become bitter we will learn the priceless lessons of grace that adversity can bring.
One autumn day A. B. Cooper went to a chrysanthemum show. He asked gardener, "How do you manage to produce such MARVELOUS FLOWERS?" "Well, sir, we concentrate all, the strength of the plant on one bloom. If you allow it bear all the flowers it could, none would be worth showing. If you want a prize specimen, you must be content with a single chrysanthemum instead, of many." So too, God prunes from our lives certain habits and practices, which in themselves may not be wrong, so that He may perfect in us the one exquisite white blossom of holiness.
Those who accept trouble graciously grow rich by their losses, rise by their falls, and find new life- in Christ by dying to self. Anything suffered in the body can profit the soul.
The word distressed [heaviness, sorrow, lupçthéntes] is the same word used to describe what Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane when He sweat great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). So Peter isn’t minimizing the reality of what his readers were fearing or feeling. “What you’re going through may be distressful,” he says. “But it’s only for a season. Heaven is eternal so rejoice greatly.”
Think of it this way. You go to an AIRLINES COUNTER at the airport, and the ticket agent says, “Your flight to Miami is on time. There’s been some turbulence, but we absolutely guarantee that you’ll get there. Our plane is in great shape. Our pilot is fully qualified. You might experience a few bumps, but you’re going to get there just fine.”
“Hang on to my ticket,” you say as you make your way to a different ticket counter.
“Are there any seats available for the flight to Miami?” you ask. “You bet,” says the agent. “And we guarantee you’ll have a smooth ride. No bumps, no jolts, no airsickness. Guaranteed smooth sailing all the way. It’s the landing we’re not so sure about. You see, our landing gear is not working quite right, and we seem to have a problem with occasionally landing nose-first. Also, the brakes haven’t been serviced recently. But we guarantee the flight will be smooth—even if the landing is a little iffy.”
If you have to choose between a smooth flight with a crash landing, or a bumpy flight with a safe landing, you’ll no doubt opt for the bumpy flight.
There are those who say, “I don’t want trials. I don’t want to go against the world’s system. I don’t want to deal with all of those church disciplines you talk about. I just want smooth sailing.” They are fools, for although they might escape a few bumps presently, they’re ultimately headed for a fiery crash landing. On the other hand, those of us who presently deal with a few distressing bumps along the way, will make a safe landing in heaven.
That’s what Peter will emphasize over and over throughout his epistle as he sets our sights on the big picture, on heaven. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2003, S. 1545]
[When Jerome Groopman diagnosed patients with SERIOUS DISEASES, the Harvard Medical School professor discovered that all of them were “looking for a sense of genuine hope—and indeed, that hope was as important to them as anything he might prescribe as a physician.”
After writing a book called “The Anatomy of Hope,” Groopman was asked for his definition of hope. He replied: “Basically, I think hope is the ability to see a path to the future. You are facing dire circumstances, and you need to know everything that’s blocking or threatening you. And then you see a path, or a potential path, to get to where you want to be. Once you see that, there’s a tremendous emotional uplift that occurs.”
The doctor confessed, “I think hope has been, is, and always will be the heart of medicine and healing. We could not live without hope.” Even with all the medical technology available to us now, “we still come back to this profound human need to believe that there is a possibility to reach a future that is better than the one in the present.”]
IN CLOSING
Peter encouraged his readers to trust in Jesus, live obediently in hard circumstances, and keep their hope fixed on God’s ultimate purpose of deliverance and their heavenly reward. To those who are feeling discouraged, displaced, depressed, or in danger, Peter addresses the issue by saying, “We have a living hope based upon the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.”
“A living hope” means that the believer’s hope is sure, certain, and real, as opposed to the deceptive, empty, false hope the world offers. The living Christ is the source of our new birth and our living hope. My question this morning is very simply this: are you experiencing the new birth and living hope Jesus came to give you?
[Unlike living hope, human hope tends to get weaker and dimmer, and finally dies altogether the farther one goes down the road of life.
I was an awesome pitcher. As I stood in the street and pitched a tennis ball against our block wall, you wouldn’t believe my split slider, my curve, my sinker. I knew even Mickey Mantle would strike out if he ever faced me at the plate. Oh, I might go to the full count, but I would always come through—every single time. In my imagination, I pitched perfect game after perfect game as a nine-year-old. But it finally hit me about two years ago that, in reality, I’ll never pitch for the New York Yankees. Even if I practice really hard, I now know it’s just not going to happen. My hope that once shone so brightly is now gone altogether.
The same is true for all of us. As we go down the road of life, we check off more and more things we thought we would one day do or be. Regarding spiritual life, however, the opposite is true. The farther down the road we walk with Jesus, the more we realize our hope doesn’t lie on this earth, but in heaven. We don’t need to be a people who wrestle with midlife crises because our hope is not to make the New York Yankees or to make ten million bucks. Our hope is in heaven. And heaven’s getting closer every day.]
HOW CAN YOU OBTAIN THIS LIVING HOPE? You must be born again by entrusting yourself & committing yourself to the truth of Christ’s death, burial & resurrection!
Do you have this hope? If not, would you like to have it? God the Father offers you a hope that you can have & maintain by faith. He has done all the impossible part so that all you must do is surrender your life to Him. If you would like to receive Jesus as your Lord & Savior, pray this prayer from the heart. "Lord Jesus, I believe in my heart that you were raised from the dead & that this guarantees that your death was sufficient to pay for all my sins & therefore God is for me & not against me. You Yourself are alive today and with me to help forever. And I pray that you will help me now to hope fully in your promises so that I might have a Living Hope, a Future Hope & a Present Hope. In Jesus Name, Amen.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - who according to his great mercy has begotten us anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
