1 Peter 1:3-5
An Inheritance Imperishable
Having blessed his readers with God’s grace and peace, Peter moves on to further describe these blessings—of their cause and of what they consist. But first the Apostle blesses the One who is blessed above all—the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Compared to Him, none other are blessed. Only He is God, only He is eternal in the heavens, only He has life in Himself such that He cannot die, only He cannot be contained as He created all, is in all, and above all, only He knows Himself and all other things, only He is almighty, and only He is good and gracious and before whom all hearts are open and all things revealed—in short, there are none beside Him, none before Him, and none after Him: He alone is God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All glory, honor, and praise be to Him alone.
And as He is God and does what he pleases (Psalm 115:3), in his infinite mercy, “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Did you hear that? He has caused us to be born again. We did not birth ourselves; He birthed us. Salvation is not our work; it is not of our election. Lest they congratulate themselves, Jesus told his disciples plainly: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). It was ever this way. God told the Israelites: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you” (Deuteronomy 7:7). So our God and Father is the author of our regeneration, and it is solely His own love that motivated Him to do so.
And to what has He birthed us? What is that gain received by those so regenerated from the Father’s electing love? Answer: He has birthed us “to a living hope.” “Living” is the operative word. Christians do not live for the hope of this world which is fading, defiled, and perishable. The Christian’s hope is eternal and secure in heaven by God’s mighty power. It will not fade away. And not only is our inheritance in heaven guarded but we as well “are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” This is the saint’s eternal security: His being reborn by God and his being kept by God’s power. How secure is the saint’s salvation? Answer: How powerful is God?
And God provided the means for all of this “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The living one provided the living hope.