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 undefined 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. (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 apostle Peter wrote today’s letter – Peter was an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ. His audience was primarily Christian Jews and Peter, a Jewish man, wrote from a Jewish point of view. In faith in Christ, Peter has a new relationship with God – no longer the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our verses today tell his readers that in faith they went from spiritually dead in sin to a state of definite expectation of the blessings before us; the moment of this expectation was the resurrection of Christ Jesus showing He is sufficient in all things salvation. We have no part in this; salvation does not rest on any ability or work of our own but on the abundant mercy of God assured by the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
Salvation is the living and certain hope of the Christian. This inheritance in Christ is preserved for the faithful – nothing can come between salvation and the faithful. In this blessed hope we are able to rejoice now, even in trials and present sorrows. Everything has changed in the resurrection; the remedy God provided for sin was accomplished by Christ Jesus on Calvary. Now in Christ we are reborn and the work is done in us by the Word and Spirit of God. This is not at all what the Jews expected – it is not an earthly kingdom but an incorruptible inheritance.
If we are not saved, we are lost – we need an eternal perspective. The mother of my best friend used to say “What does it matter in the light of eternity?” At age 18 we found this amusing but not so much now. There is a great change in the hearts of the faithful – a new life and nature which produces love unselfish and pure. Believing the gospel we become children of God and are responsible to walk in dependence on the Lord. We are to behave as we believe.