"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,
"to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, 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."
I Peter 1: 3-5
Recently I have been working my way through I Peter, trying to really dig in and grow in my understanding of what it is God wants me to learn from it. I sat down, prayed then broke down the above verses as best I could using a Greek Word Study New Testament (please keep in mind that I am no Greek scholar). After having read and reread the passage several times here is what I observed about our great salvation from this passage of scripture:
1) We have been born again according to God's great mercy.
It is by His grace and mercy alone that we can stand before a holy God because we are clothed in Christ's righteousness. God has shown great compassion on those who are born again as we see in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
2) We have been born again to a LIVING hope.
Our hope is not vain, dead, or wasted... our hope is a living hope, a vivifying (life giving) hope. That life comes through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. "Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness!" (Hymn: The Solid Rock by Edward Mote)
3) We have been born again to an inheritance which is:
~~imperishable- cannot be corrupted
~~undefiled- cannot be soiled or debased
~~will not decay- unfading as in in cannot ever wear out
~~reserved in heaven-kept, watched over
Our inheritance is not one that can be lost, stolen, squandered, eaten by moths or burned by fire.
It is like nothing on earth, it is eternal, perfect, it's beauty will never fade! It cannot be corrupted, soiled or debased... isn't that wonderful? God has reserved it in heaven FOR YOU. Wow!
4) We are protected by the power of God through faith.
The word protected in this verse has the imagery of a person mounting guard as sentinel, it is being watched in advance, it is completed safe. Why is it safe? Because it is protected by the power of God Almighty- the wind and the waves obey His voice, He spoke the universe into place, He calls all the stars by name, He is God of very God (Psalm 104)! HE is the one who protects those who have placed their faith in Him. Hallelujah!
5) Our salvation will be revealed in the last time.
As we walk through this life by faith we are looking forward to the blessed living hope, our inheritance reserved for us. Why do we do this? Because we have eternity in our hearts, we are not meant to stay here, we are pilgrims, sojourners heading for our heavenly home. In the last time God will literally remove the veil to expose that which was previously hidden... our great salvation. It will not be just a living hope anymore but a glorious reality. We will no longer vaguely see Him but we will see Him face to face! We will take hold of that which has been reserved in heaven for us - our imperishable inheritance!
Maranatha - Lord Come Quickly!
Oh Lord Jesus, I am overwhelmed by the glories of Your word! So little can I comprehend and how great that little bit is! Help me Lord to continually live in the reality of this great salvation You have given to me. Enable me to understand Your word and apply it to my life in such a way that I become more and more like You. Thank You, thank You for the cross and the living hope it gives. Amen.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Preparation and Purpose
I Peter 1: 13
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely in the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
"Gird up" (prepare):
a metaphor derived from the practice of the Orientals, who in order to be unimpeded in their movements were accustomed, when starting a journey or engaging in any work, to bind their long flowing garments closely around their bodies and fastened them with a leather belt."
I like this word picture, it illustrates very well how we are to remove or put aside any encumbrances so we can we take action or work. One interesting thing to note is that the ancients did this at the beginning... not once they had begun but in preparation for what lay ahead of them. That required forethought and a sense of purpose.
"keep sober in spirit":
We are to be discreet and keep watch. Our minds are to be occupied with things that pertain to our calling as believers. Now does that mean we are fuddy duddies that have no sense of humor without any sort of interesting personality? No! It does mean that we are serious about our calling as believers and that brings a sense of purpose to all we do (Romans 14:17). We are not to be senseless but loving, joyful, patient, kind, among other things (Eph. 5:22-23).
"fix your hope completely in the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"
Completely means perfectly, entirely, to the end, in the sense of accomplishment of hope. We are to fix (set) our hope perfectly, entirely on the grace that will be brought to us at Christ's revelation. He is our source, our motivation, our reason for preparing for action in the first place. We are to wait for our salvation with joy and full confidence that He who promised is faithful to complete that which He has begun (I Thes 5:23-24).
As we look forward to Christ's return and He will enable us to prepare, act, keep watch, and hope in His abundant grace.
Thank You Lord for the grace which You so freely bestow on me every day. Forgive me for losing sight of my purpose and falling short. Enable me to live a life that is honoring to You in my thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. In Jesus' name - Amen.
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely in the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
"Gird up" (prepare):
a metaphor derived from the practice of the Orientals, who in order to be unimpeded in their movements were accustomed, when starting a journey or engaging in any work, to bind their long flowing garments closely around their bodies and fastened them with a leather belt."
I like this word picture, it illustrates very well how we are to remove or put aside any encumbrances so we can we take action or work. One interesting thing to note is that the ancients did this at the beginning... not once they had begun but in preparation for what lay ahead of them. That required forethought and a sense of purpose.
"keep sober in spirit":
We are to be discreet and keep watch. Our minds are to be occupied with things that pertain to our calling as believers. Now does that mean we are fuddy duddies that have no sense of humor without any sort of interesting personality? No! It does mean that we are serious about our calling as believers and that brings a sense of purpose to all we do (Romans 14:17). We are not to be senseless but loving, joyful, patient, kind, among other things (Eph. 5:22-23).
"fix your hope completely in the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"
Completely means perfectly, entirely, to the end, in the sense of accomplishment of hope. We are to fix (set) our hope perfectly, entirely on the grace that will be brought to us at Christ's revelation. He is our source, our motivation, our reason for preparing for action in the first place. We are to wait for our salvation with joy and full confidence that He who promised is faithful to complete that which He has begun (I Thes 5:23-24).
As we look forward to Christ's return and He will enable us to prepare, act, keep watch, and hope in His abundant grace.
Thank You Lord for the grace which You so freely bestow on me every day. Forgive me for losing sight of my purpose and falling short. Enable me to live a life that is honoring to You in my thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. In Jesus' name - Amen.
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