The Blessed Hope Series

Peter goes on to declare that regeneration results in believers receiving a living hope. It is not so much that believers are now living “full of hope,” but that they have a fixed “hope,” a clear vision of what God will do for them in the future (McKnight, S. (1996). 1 Peter (pp. 70–71). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).

We should note that the word hope is used in the Bible with the distinctive meaning “confident expectation.” Today, of course, hope means merely to “want” something to happen, without having any real assurance that it will happen, as in the sentence, “I hope tomorrow will be a sunny day.” The resurrection is the central hope of Christianity; it is not merely something that we want to happen, but an assurance we have. We know we shall rise!( Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2601). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.) The unbelieving world knows only dying hopes (Job 8:13; Prov. 10:28; Eph. 2:12), but believers have a living, undying hope (Pss. 33:18; 39:7; Rom. 5:5; Eph. 4:4; Titus 2:13; Heb. 6:19) that will come to a complete, final, and glorious fulfillment (Rom. 5:2; Col. 1:27). Christian hope is everliving because Christ, the ground of that hope, is everliving. The present reality of the Christian’s life is defined and determined by the reality of the past—the resurrection of Jesus Christ—and is guaranteed into the future because Christ lives forevermore. ( Jobes, K. H. (2005). 1 Peter (p. 85). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.)

As Paul explained it to the Romans:

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (ESV)

• The hope of the glory of God refers to the promise that Christians will be glorified and perfected at the last day—a hope that results in joy, even in the midst of present difficulties.(Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2165). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).

The means of Christians’ appropriating this living hope and eternal inheritance is spiritual birth, and the power for that appropriation was demonstrated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus told Martha, just prior to the raising of her brother Lazarus from the grave, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25–26; cf. 14:19). Paul instructed the Corinthians concerning the vital ramifications of the resurrection, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). Even if one hoped in Christ in this life, but not beyond it, he would be lost (v. 19). However, Christ rose from the dead, forever securing the believer’s living hope in heaven by finally conquering death (vv. 20–28, 47–49, 54–57). Their hope, in other words, is the hope of resurrection, triumph over death; hence, whatever happens to believers in this world is trivial compared to the blessing of the future resurrection.( Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 62). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)