Monthly Archive for January, 1997

1 Peter 1:5b

Published on January 31, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

by the power of God
God guards us by nothing less than his omnipotent power. It is God’s power that guards the believer’s eternal security. This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead (Ro 1:4; 1 Co 1:18; 5:4; 6:14; 13:4; Ph 3:10). This work is strictly God’s work.
Our salvation is not maintained by our personal power but by the power of God, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek,” (Romans 1:16). The same power that delivered us from the penalty of sin delivers us from the power of sin and ultimately from the presence of sin.
Principle:
God’s omnipotent power is operative in our salvation.
Application:
Our eternal foe is bent on robbing us of our salvation. However, God throws the military garrison of his omnipotent power around our salvation. This is an impregnable ring of defence. God posts the sentinel of his all-powerful being around us. The enemy cannot possibly break through this kind of defense. God never changes his guard. He is on duty until we arrive in heaven.
There is an inconsistency in believing that God can save us originally but not keep us saved. It is an insidious form of unbelief on the part of a Christian.

1 Peter 1:5

Published on January 30, 1997 in 1 Peter. 2 Comments
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“Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Now we come to God’s lay-away plan. God lays our inheritance of heaven away with his guarantee that we will receive it. I Peter 1:5 is one of the greatest verses in the Bible on the full assurance of faith.
 
Who are kept
The word “guard” is a military term meaning to keep by guarding, to guard with a garrison.
Plutarch, in his Plutarch Lives, tells the story of an insurrection of gladiators. These gladiators devastated Italy in the war of Spartacus. Lentulus Batiatus had a school of gladiators at Capua (most were Gauls and Thracians). He kept them in confinement reserved for gladiatorial combat. Seventy-eight gladiators escaped. On the road they seized a wagon carrying gladiators’ weapons to another city. They elected three leaders one of whom was Spartacus.
At the beginning, the gladiators repelled the soldiers and took their weapons. Then the Roman government sent General Clodius against them with 3000 soldiers. He laid siege to them on a hill which had but one descent, and that a narrow and difficult one. Plutarch says Clodius closely “watched” the descent. This is our term in this verse. It means to throw a military garrison around. God throws the military garrison of his power around our salvation.
The tense indicates that God continuously guards the Christian’s salvation. We can never lose our salvation because God keeps it under guard. God throws the garrison of his person around the believer. God guards us throughout our earthly pilgrimage. There is never a moment when God does not guard our inheritance. God always keeps those he saves. We can never lose our salvation. If we are a Christian, we are eternally secure.
Principle:
The onus for keeping our salvation is upon God.
Application:
To many Christians, the Christian life has no solid foundation. It is like a man sitting at his desk on the 70th floor of a recently constructed building. After moving into the building a short time, a light falls upon his desk. He does not call the architect to examine the foundation of the building. He examines the fixture to find if there is a flaw. Unfortunately, many Christians do not examine the immediate cause when they sin. They examine the foundation of their faith. “Am I saved? Has God forsaken me?”
The issue is not the foundation (salvation) but the immediate cause (our sin). If we have violated God’s holiness, then God expects confession of that sin (I John 1:9).
What about the foundation? How can a person know he is eternally secure with God? The next studies on this verse will answer those questions.

1 Peter 1:4e

Published on January 29, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

reserved in heaven for you
 
Peter is writing to people who are about to undergo a trial. Nero is going to light his garden parties with Christian burning on poles. That is how he got his kicks. God is about to allow Christians to suffer under Nero.
 
Principle:
God wants us to keep eternal values in view.
Application:
“Why does God not keep me from getting kicked around in this life? Why does he not provide an ivory palace for me? Why will God not protect me from all the miserable things I have to face? Why can’t I always have things nice and pleasant?”
In verses 6 and 7 he answers that – God wants us to develop our faith. Some of the greatest blessings we will ever receive are through suffering. God can use us to encourage others through our suffering. He will demonstrate the reality of Christianity to those who do not know him.
Suffering becomes a witness to our life in Christ. God gives his assets during periods of suffering. He provides his grace in suffering.
In eternity there will be no suffering. God cannot show his love for us in the same way at that time. Therefore, only in time can God demonstrate his grace through suffering. He cannot do it in eternity. He has a short time to show his grace in suffering. So he throws the book at us now because he only has a short period to work in time. “I want to throw this at you to see how you handle it.” If we handle it well, cursing turns to blessing. In God’s plan he does all of the providing.

1 Peter 1:4d

Published on January 28, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

reserved in heaven for you
The New Testament uses “reserved” 60 times. It may mean to guard (Matthew 27:36; Acts 12:6), to keep (John 2:10; I Peter 1:4), to protect (I Corinthians 7:37).
God lays up and keeps our inheritance for us. The tense indicates that God reserved our inheritance in the past with the result continuing into the future. We can translate this phrase “which has been reserved” for us. God laid up our inheritance at the point of our salvation and personally keeps it for us into the future.
The word “reserved” means keeping as a result of guarding (John 17:11). The voice (passive) indicates that God put the inheritance in the reservation for us. The idea is he preserves it for us.
“Reserved” is a military term. It means to keep safe with a garrison. God is guarding our inheritance. His guard never changes. No one will ever take our inheritance away from God (John 17:11,12; John 5:24). This is God’s protection of the believer’s eternal destiny. He is on duty 24 hours a day. God places a perimeter around the Christian (John 10:27-29). No one or no thing will defeat or disrupt God in providing salvation for us. Our salvation centers on God’s purpose (Romans 8:28-30) not on human merit.
Principle:
God promises to preserve our inheritance.
Application:
Children are sometimes cut off from their inheritance. God guarantees in the Bible that none of his children will be cut off from inheriting eternity.
Legislation protects those who have died and want their inheritance to go in a given direction. Very few people succeed in contesting a will through litigation. The courts have a high regard for the wishes of those who have died. God is no less committed to his promises. No force is able to sever the believer from God’s love (Romans 8:35, 38,39). This is an indissoluble bond.
God promises to preserve our inheritance. Our inheritance is salvation. No matter what may come our way, God himself will preserve our salvation. This is the effect of the power of God.
Many people who expect to inherit something, die before they receive it. God keeps the believer for his or her inheritance! Many Christians fear that they will lose their salvation. It is a matter of God’s promise (II Timothy 1:12).

1 Peter 1:4c

Published on January 27, 1997 in 1 Peter. 2 Comments
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“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

Peter describes our eternal inheritance with three adjectives.
 
incorruptible
“Incorruptible” means not liable to corruption or subject to decay. The New Testament uses this term of God (Romans 1:23; 1 Timothy 1:17). He is not subject to decay. “Incorruptible” is used when speaking of the raised dead (I Corinthians 15:52), rewards given to the saints hereafter (”crown,” I Corinthians 9:25), the eternal inheritance of the saints (here), the Word of God, as incorruptible seed (I Peter 1:23), and a meek and quiet spirit (incorruptible apparel, I Peter 3:4).
Incorruptibleness is deathlessness. Death cannot destroy our inheritance. I Corinthians 15:53, 54 renders this term “immortality.” The glorified body of the believer is immortal. The nature of God is immortal (I Timothy 6:16). Immortality is freedom from death. Our inheritance is not liable to corruption or decay.
Fruit rots, spoils and decays. No grave is ever dug on the estate of heaven. Our inheritance cannot be destroyed by death.
Secular Greek used the term “incorruptible” for a state unravaged by an invading army. Many times alien armies invaded Palestine. That land was fought over, blasted and destroyed. The Christian possesses an inheritance that no invading army can ravage or destroy. It is beyond the reach of eternal death.
and undefiled
“Undefiled” means free from contamination, pure. Whatever is “undefiled” is without flaw or defect. Jesus Christ is undefiled (Hebrews 7:26). James 1:27 uses this term of the eternal inheritance of believers (here). Hebrews 13:4 uses “undefiled” of the marriage bed. We can defile the marriage bed by adultery.
Our inheritance is untainted by sin. We cannot pollute God’s inheritance. No sin can taint it. It is unstained by evil. We cannot destroy our inheritance by our sinful nature.
It is beyond the blight of change. It lasts forever.
and that does not fade away
“Fade away” means our inheritance is everlasting. It never becomes old. It never wears out. It is imperishable. Its beauty never fades. It never dries up. It is everlasting and forever undiminished. Our inheritance is perennially fresh. It never becomes old and worn. Time does not impair it.
Extra-biblical Greek uses this term for a flower that does not fade. Some flowers are beautiful, but then they wilt after a very short time. Eternal life will not lose its wonderful, pristine character. It does not fade or lose its brightness. Our inheritance retains its wonderful character.
Peter uses an associated term in I Peter 5:4 where he says “you will receive a glorious crown which will not lose its brightness.” It is unimpaired by time.
The Bible often describes heaven in negatives. Human language is not adequate to describe the reality of heaven. The book of Revelation describes heaven in term of negatives as well, Revelation 21:4, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Because heaven transcends human language the Bible has to resort to what it is not rather than what it is. Therefore our place in heaven is untouched by death, unstained by evil and unimpaired by time.
Principle:
Our inheritance is untouched by death, unstained by evil and unimpaired by time.
Application:
Many earthly inheritances wither away before being received. Our inheritance maintains its fragrance forever. God keeps our garden forever. Why should we worry about our eternal future? The grave is not a blind alley but a thoroughfare, an expressway leading to a much richer life beyond.
Our inheritance is a perpetual, imperishable, preservation in eternity. Heaven is far more than a happy hunting ground. Nor is heaven lying around in nylon nighties strumming guitars! It is a place preserved by God for fellowship with him.

1 Peter 1:4b

Published on January 26, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

to an inheritance
 
God gives the Christian a joint account in Christ’s inheritance (Romans 8:16,17). When people get married, they go to a bank and open a joint account. It is always a happy little excursion as they trot down to the bank with their money. They think that a joint account means, “Half is yours and half is mine.” A man is not married long when he finds out that it doesn’t mean that at all.
 
A joint account means whoever gets there first gets the money and somehow she beats him there every time!!
A joint-heir with Christ is not a 50/50 deal. It means everything he has belongs to me (Hebrews 1:1, 2).
Principle:
The Christian falls heir to all of Christ’s inheritance in heaven.
Application:
The Christian possesses great privileges because of Christ. He holds these privileges solely because of his status with Christ.
The corollary truth is that everything we have belongs to him. We cannot hold to our possessions if we love him. He gave us health, physical strength, mental ability, position, power, money and fame. He gave them. He can take them away. He adds and he knows how to subtract. He is great at math. Our health belongs to him. Our children and grandchildren belong to him. There may be a time when he takes these away, then we will know he is God (Job 1:21; 9:12).
We need to learn with Job that everything we have belongs to God. Once we settle that with God conclusively, then our lives will get on track. “Lord, we had that out when I was 24 years of age. No problem, Lord. You do all things well. You are too good to do wrong, too wise to make a mistake. It is all right, Lord.”
This is the Lordship of Christ. He will not be satisfied until we come to the place of total capitulation. If God should be pleased to subtract from us, he is simply taking of his own. We gave it to him – remember? Did we mean it? This is not something we should debate. He is Lord. If we fudge on that, we trifle with the Lord.

1 Peter 1:4

Published on January 25, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

God gives generously from his grace in time. That, however, is nothing in comparison with eternity. There his generous giving will never stop. We will receive from his unlimited resources at that time.
 
to an inheritance
Peter describes our inheritance of heaven as future yet secure. Heirs to present estates have no assurance that they will receive their inheritance. They may die before they fall heir to their possessions. It is a different story for Christians.
Christ falls heir to all things (Hebrews 1:2). God has one Son. He is heir to God’s possessions. We are born into the family of God through Jesus Christ. God bases our heirship on sonship (Romans 8:16, 17). God wants us to have an appreciation in time for the provisions he gives us. He wants us to appreciate in time what will become his unlimited resources in eternity. This orients us to eternal values.
Heirship demands that we enjoy eternal life (Titus 3:7). If we fall heirs to the resources of the eternal God, we must have eternal life to enjoy it. God bases our heirship on election as well as sonship (Hebrews 9:15). In eternity we will have an unlimited charge account for the elect. As heirs we share the destiny of Christ (Ephesians 1:11).
God has already given us the down payment on our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). The indwelling Holy Spirit is the earnest of our salvation.
The Word of Grace gives us an inheritance among those whom God sets apart. Acts 20: 32, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
We receive an inheritance at the point of salvation. Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
Principle:
Our inheritance is our title to future eternal fellowship with God.
Application:
An inheritance is what gives title to spiritual possessions. It is that which we receive by virtue of birth – spiritual birth. It is the acquisition of property by succession. We pass earthly inheritances from family to family through birth. Spiritual inheritance is the same process. God places us into his family when we put our trust in the death of Christ to forgive our sins. A member of the family of God inherits heaven.
Have you placed your personal trust in the death of Christ for your sins? Why not enter into the family of God now?

1 Peter 1:3g

Published on January 24, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“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.”

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
 
The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the foundation for the Christian’s hope. It is the assurance of our own resurrection. Jesus resurrection and our resurrection are inseparably connected (Colossians 3:1).
 
“From the dead” means “out from” the dead. Jesus was the first to come out from among the dead. Those who believe in him will come later. Daniel 12 and John 5 speak of resurrection of believers from the dead. At that point God inducts the Christian into the eternal state.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead sets apart Christianity from all the religions of the earth. The sequel to the death of Christ is his resurrection. He died but rose again. He would be better than no other religious leader had he come and gone.
Acts 1: 3, “To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
Jesus predicted that he would rise again (John 2:9, 21; 10:17,18). The New Testament emphasizes the resurrection as the sequel to his death (Acts 2:23, 24; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 17:30, 31; 26:22, 23; Romans 6:4; 7:4; 8:11,34; 10:9; 14:9; I Corinthians 6:14; 15:20; 15:3-5). This is what gives us hope.
The grave is not the bleak, barren terminus of all human existence for the Christian. Death is not a leap into the dark. For the Christian, death is a servant that leads us into the presence of the Lord of Glory. People may place our bodies into caskets and graves. We are in neither (II Corinthians 5:8). Our soul goes instantaneously, automatically, as soon as death strikes our body, into the presence of the Lord. That is why we do not sorrow as those who are not Christians (I Thessalonians 4:13).
God grounds our future life with him in the resurrection of Christ (Luke 24:9; Romans 6:10; 14:9; II Corinthians 13:4). Jesus brought life and immortality to light (II Timothy 1:10). He is the author of life Acts 3:15. We are saved by his life (Romans 5:10). He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is the true and eternal life (I  John 5:20).
God’s gift of eternal life is by an act of grace (Romans 5:15). Our hope rests on this (Romans 1:17). When we believe in Jesus Christ we have eternal life (John 3:15-16). The gospel destroys death and gives immortality (II Timothy 1:10). The gospel is God’s power to salvation (Romans 1:16).
Our future life has already been effected by Christ’s substitution for our sin. Our resurrection from the dead is simply the consummation of that work. It is grounded in a completed act and therefore living and sure (I Peter 1:3).
Principle:
We do not worship a dead man.
Application:
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we will rise from the dead as well. Because Christ was raised from the dead, so will we. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection. The personal significance of the resurrection of Christ for us is that we have hope. He will usher us into his presence one day. This is the crown of the Christian experience.

1 Peter 1:3f

Published on January 23, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“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.”

a living hope
 
Not only do we have hope; we have a “living” hope. The New Testament uses the word “living” for life in the absolute sense – life as God as it (John 5:26; I John 1:2).
 
Man became alienated from this life as a result of the fall of Adam (Ephesians 4:18). We become partakers of God’s life through faith in Christ (John 3:15) His life becomes our life (Colossians 3:4). We possess present eternal life (John 5:24; I John 3:14). This life will one day extend to the domain of our physical body (II Corinthians 5:4; II Timothy 1:10).
In the New Testament, death is not natural. It is due to sin. Death came through sin (Romans 5:12) which is rebellion against God. Sin thus involved the forfeiting of the life.
Peter uses the word “living” six times (1:3, 23; 2:4-5; 4:5-6). Living means that our hope is real. It is not an empty hope.
True life, God’s life, is not destructible. The life that is subject to death is only provisional (I Corinthians 15:19). Those bound to it are “dead.” True life is future (I Timothy 4:8) and indestructible. It is eternal (Mark 10:17; Romans 2:7; Galatians 6:8), and linked with salvation. As natural life is given by creation, God’s life is given by resurrection.
The giving of life to the one who violates God must be by death of Christ’s life – “It is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.” Sin separates us from God. Separation from God forfeits spiritual life. God removes spiritual death by a sacrifice in which the victim and the offerer become identified. God identified us with the substitutionary death of Christ giving us eternal life.
Since Christ had no sins of his own for which to die, his death was voluntary and vicarious (John 10:15; Isaiah 53:5, 10, 12; 2 Corinthians 5:21). In Jesus’ sacrifice he suffered God’s judgment due to our sin. By this means we become identified with Jesus in his deathless life, through his resurrection, and we enjoy conscious and eternal fellowship with God. He took our hell that we might have his heaven.
Principle:
God has given us life as he has it – eternal life.
Application:
No other group of people on earth have a hope beyond the grave except Christians. All of the founders of religion are dead except the Lord Jesus. He is the only one alive today. We cannot say that about Mohammed or Buddha or any other religious leader of history. They are dead and gone! Not the Christ of God. That is what makes Christianity unique. We have a living hope.
The Christian is not temporally optimistic or hopeful. He has confidence that he will one day live eternally with the Lord Jesus.
We have a hope that is actively alive. The Christian presently looks to eternity with expectancy. Why should we look on the dark side of things? The Christian’s future is immortal – not subject to death. Therefore, nothing can extinguish the Christian’s hope. Probably one of the worst “pests” around is the pessimist! Why should a Christian be pessimistic about life?

1 Peter 1:3e

Published on January 22, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“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.”

Job asked the question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). The subject of eternity holds universal interest to every human being
 
Sophocles wrote, “Not to be born at all – that is by far the best fortune; the second best is as soon as one is born, with all speed to return thither whence one has come.” There is not much hope in that statement! Christianity offers hope, hope that goes beyond temporal optimism.
to a living hope
Hope in the Bible means confident expectation. It means to be confident about the future (Romans 8:24,25). It means to anticipate the good (Titus 1:2; I Peter 1:21).The New Testament uses hope with the concept of resurrection:
Acts 23:6, “the hope and resurrection of the dead.” The two ideas are regarded as one. The resurrection defines our hope.
Hope is also used with the idea of promise:
Acts 26:6,7, “the hope of the promise.” This means we expect God to fulfill his promises.
Galatians 5:5, uses hope with righteousness: “the hope of righteousness.”
This hope (confidence) is our assurance that we will stand in the righteousness of Christ at his coming. We will stand in complete conformity to God’s will at that time because of Christ.
Colossians 1:23, “the hope of the Gospel”
This is the hope of the fulfillment of all the promises presented in the Gospel.
Romans 5:2, “(the) hope of the glory of God”
This is the confidence that we will be in the presence of God.
Titus 2:13, “the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Colossians 1:27).
I Thessalonians 5:8, “the hope of salvation”
This is the hope of the rapture of believers when Christ comes back to earth.
Ephesians 1:18, “the hope of His (God’s) calling”
This is the prospect of those who respond to His call in the Gospel
Ephesians 4:4, “the hope of your calling”
Our hope here is regarded from the point of view of the called
Titus 1:2; 3:7, “the hope of eternal life”
This is the full manifestation and realization of that life that is already the believer’s possession.
Acts 28:20, “the hope of Israel”
This is the expectation of the coming of the Messiah.
Romans 15:13, “the God of hope”
God is the Author, not the subject, of hope.
Principle:
The Christian has a hope beyond the grave.
Application:
Do you have confidence in your eternal future? If you are a Christian you should anticipate eternity with confidence.