Our Great Salvation

1 Peter 1:3-12

 

 

According to early church tradition, Peter died because he boldly preached the gospel. Jesus had hinted at it years earlier (John 21:18-19). But before he died, Peter made sure we would have the message he preached. He wrote it down, and he told us why:

2 Peter 1:12 & 15 (NKJV) 12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. … 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

 

The gospel is the truth he speaks of, and the letters are the reminder. Today we are looking at 1 Peter 1:3-12, the opening of his first letter, and it is a condensed version of the gospel.

 

Have you ever seen this product? 

 

I picture all the goodness of a gallon of milk and a pound of sugar packed into this 14-ounce can. That's how I see these verses. A lifetime of truth is packed into as few words as possible, and today we're going to open the can and taste some of what's inside.

 

In these verses, Peter tells us what happens when we turn to Jesus, how that changes our lives, and how we can be sure it's true.

 

First, what happens when we turn to Jesus?

 

The short answer is: we are born again.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NKJV) 3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Peter begins with praise, and he has good reason to. Think about what God did. The Bible says the heavens are the work of His fingers. But when it speaks of salvation, it says, "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations." (Isaiah 52:10) The arm is a picture of strength, and nothing shows the power of God like making a spiritually dead person alive. Paul calls it a new creation: "old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 

Notice who does the work. Peter says God "has begotten us again" according to His abundant mercy. Jesus told Nicodemus the same thing in John 3, that we must be "born from above." Birth is not something we accomplish. It is something done to us, and it is entirely the work of God. We turn to Jesus, trusting that He is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, and when we do, we find that God has already been at work. We are alive in a completely new way. We are children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus.

 

Why did it take a miracle? Because we were dead in our sins, and sin has to be dealt with. That is why Peter mentions "the sufferings of Christ" a few verses later. Jesus died in our place. Isaiah put it this way: "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities... and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) New life comes because He took our death. Turning to Jesus means turning from sin and trusting Him to save us.

 

Peter says this new birth gives us two gifts: a living hope and an inheritance.

A living hope. Notice what makes it living: "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Our hope is alive because Jesus is alive. Let me use an illustration to explain.

 

Say a hen lays two eggs, and both are fertilized. Someone takes one, boils it, lets it cool, and slips it back into the nest. The hen keeps sitting on both. But the boiled egg has no chance of hatching. There's no life in it. That's the kind of hope the world offers. Even if it gives us a better life now, no hope built on anything but Christ can carry us past the grave. Jesus said:

Matthew 16:26 (NKJV) "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

 

But the hope we have is built on a Savior who walked out of the tomb. That's the egg with life in it. And just as that egg doesn't yet look like a chick, we don't yet look like what we will become. But the life is real, and it's growing. In heaven we will enter a fuller and more glorious life than we can imagine.

 

An inheritance. Because we are God's children, we have an inheritance, and Peter describes it three ways: it is incorruptible, undefiled, and it does not fade away. It can't decay, it can't be stained, and it can't lose its beauty. It's "reserved in heaven for you." And it's secure for another reason as well. God is guarding us for it: we "are kept by the power of God through faith." He holds the inheritance, and He holds us.

 

That's a glimpse of what the new birth gives us. Now let's look at how it shapes our lives while we wait.

 

Second, how does this affect our lives?

 

1 Peter 1:6-9 (NKJV) 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, [being] much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see [Him,] yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

 

The first effect is great rejoicing. Peter says, "In this you greatly rejoice." Many of us feel this strongly when we first come to the Lord. But Peter doesn't say the joy fades and the grief takes over. He says they exist side by side: you rejoice, though you have been grieved. Joy and grief at the same time. That is one of the strangest and most wonderful things about following Jesus.

 

And grief is real. Peter doesn't wave it away. He says "grieved by various trials." Sometimes the grief seems more than we can bear. Paul once wrote that he and his companions were burdened "beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life." (2 Corinthians 1:8) The faithful can feel that way. What helps is not finding strength in ourselves. It's what the Lord told Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

 

And if you are in that place right now, don't carry it alone. Tell someone: a pastor, a friend, someone in this room. God often comforts us through His people. "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart." (Psalm 34:18)

 

Peter also tells us there is purpose in it. Trials last "a little while," and God uses them the way a refiner uses fire. Gold is precious, but gold perishes. Our faith is far more precious than gold, and the fire shows that it's genuine. Paul says the same in Romans 8:

Romans 8:18 (NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

Notice what Peter says about the One who is with us in the fire: "whom having not seen you love." We have never seen Jesus, and still we love Him. We trust Him and call on Him in the storm. And Peter says that this love, held without sight, "with joy inexpressible and full of glory," is the sign that our faith is real. Our endurance is not what earns salvation. It is the evidence that God is keeping us, and the end of our faith is "the salvation of your souls."

 

So God may use some hot fires in our lives, but Jesus is always with us in them, and we can rejoice in Him even while we grieve.

 

Third, how can we be sure it's true?

 

How do we know this isn't just a fairy tale?

 

Peter's answer begins with the prophets.

1 Peter 1:10-12 (NKJV) 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace [that would come] to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.

 

The prophets gave us the Old Testament, and they wrote about Christ hundreds of years before He came. Peter says "the Spirit of Christ" was in them, and that they testified beforehand about "the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow." Isaiah 53, which we read a moment ago, was written centuries before the cross. They didn't fully understand what they were writing, so they searched carefully. They were serving you, and even angels long to look into what you've received.

 

That is the first reason we can be sure: God announced it ahead of time, and then He did it.

 

The second reason is that the Bible is unlike any other book. It was written by more than forty men over more than a thousand years, and it tells one story. Some people say it has been changed over the centuries. But we have copies of Old Testament books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, that were written well over a century before Jesus was born. When we compare them to the copies we've used for centuries since, we find only minor differences in spelling and wording, none that affect what we believe. The message has been preserved.

 

Of course, a book that has been preserved isn't automatically true. But this one has been preserved, its prophecies came to pass, and Jesus Himself, who rose from the dead, trusted it completely.

 

Peter knew something about experience. He stood on a mountain, saw the glory of Jesus revealed, and heard the Father's voice. Yet later he wrote:

2 Peter 1:19 (NKJV) And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place...

 

Even after that unforgettable experience, he pointed people to the written word. Our experience with the Lord is real, and it is enough to convince those of us who know Him. But Scripture is the steady light that keeps our experience honest, especially on days when our feelings are not what they should be.

 

An invitation

 

If you ask Jesus to come into your life and make you a child of God, you will be born from above into a new life, with a glorious inheritance kept for you in heaven. You will be a new person.

John 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

 

Romans 10:9 (NKJV) ...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

If you need to make that decision, or you've made it and need to get to know Jesus better, feed on the word of God. Start by reading the book of John. Listen to it on an app if you don't like to read. Read a verse or a whole book. However you do it, get the Bible into your mind and heart, and ask Jesus to show Himself to you. He will.

 

He wants to spend time with you. Don't refuse Him. Glory, honor, and praise wait for all who receive Him.