“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
at the revelation of Jesus Christ
This phrase refers to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. At this time, the Christian will receive the fullest possible life. We find the reason for this life in the word “revelation.”
“Revelation” means unveiling. Jesus Christ, as in no other point in history, will be unveiled for who He is. We will vitally relate to Him at that time. That will be complete grace to us.
When we meet Jesus, He will give us inexpressible privileges (grace) that we have never known up to that point. In the past, He was never fully revealed to us. On that day, we will see a fuller revelation of him.
God wants us to cultivate the reality of that revelation now! He wants us to experience the reality of Christ now. We do this by cultivating our hope in Christ. This makes for robust Christian living.
I live in the Pacific Northwest. We get weeks of clouds. Many Christians drape heaven in clouds. They do not let the glories of Christ shine through in their lives.
The “revelation” in 1 Peter 1:13 is the same word as the word “appear” in 1 Peter 5:4. God calls us to look forward to the consummation of our salvation. This is great and glorious hope to a Christian who is blind or paralyzed (Philippians 3:20, 21). Perhaps today, the Lord will come and deliver us from pain. There may not be any cure down here. Jesus may come today–glad day. This is the bright teaching of the Word of God.
PRINCIPLE:
The Christian will see an unveiling of Jesus one day.
APPLICATION:
Those without Christ cannot think beyond the grave. They cannot see farther than the casket. They are ignorant of life after death. All they see in death is the bleak, black terminus of all existence. They cannot see beyond that because they have no faith (Hebrews 11:1). Because of that, they have come to the erroneous conclusion that there is nothing beyond the grave.
Those with Christ look forward to meeting their Savior one day. They see beyond the grave. They hold a blessed hope.
