The First Epistle of Peter 1:5-9

The First Epistle of Peter

Chapter 1:5-9

V.5 “who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

What does it mean to be kept? Are we preserved, protected from harm in this world? Calvin ask the question; “Of what use is it that salvation is "reserved" for us in heaven, as in a calm secure haven, when we are tossed in the world as on a troubled sea in the midst of a thousand wrecks?” If eternal life is kept for us as an inheritance, than we too must be kept in order that we may reach. God not only initiates salvation, He also keeps us to it. It is His power that defeats our enemies, and it is His long suffering that protects us from ourselves. This guarding is effected, on the part of God, by His power, on the part of man, through faith. We live spiritually in the power of God and He lives in us, therefore the power by which we are guarded by is not an external power, but a power that comes down on us and lives in us. Don’t fool yourself that you are kept in the power of God by your goodness, your acts of charity, nor by your knowledge and reason, but it is faith that brought you to salvation and by faith you are kept in it.

Salvation is the final end of our new birth, provided by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and given to us by our belief, completed when Christ shall be reveled. Christ is ready to judge on the final day of grace, when restoration will be complete and the ungodly receive the fruits of their labor.

V.6 “In this you greatly rejoice, through now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,”

We rejoice in the fact that; 1. God has chosen us, and called us out of sin, and offered us salvation through the sacrifice of His Son upon the cross. 2. That our names are forever written in the Lamb’s book of life to be opened at the last time. Luke 10:20 “but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 3. That God lives in us through His Holy Spirit. 4. That either at the end of our lives, or the on the final day of grace we shall see our savior face to face. The list could go on and causes us to rejoice indeed, so that joy carries us through our troubles. For all tribulation is temporal, though it may not seem so at the time. I remember in various times when the world seemed to be crashing in around me that God’s still small voice was there to comfort me, telling me that this too would pass. There are things in my life now that grieve me terribly, and yet that sureness and peace that comes from God, lifts me up. I remember the past victories of the Lord and am able to rejoice and say, “This too will pass”.

Some feel that some kind of atonement in necessary, if we are to be a Christian. 2 Timothy 3:10 can be misunderstood to mean this when it says; “Yes, and all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”, but this is not for atonement, but for the sake of Christ. How many of us seeing another harmed because of your deeds, would not do what we can to right that wrong? If we being human have these feeling, how much more God, who watches us suffer for the cause of Christ? In Revelation 6:9-11 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for their testimony which was held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. Though the shock of what has come upon us grieves us, the hope of what lies ahead, and the promise that God will go through our trouble with us, causes us to rejoice. If I went to someone suffering and said to them, “Rejoice! For your salvation is at hand!” I may walk away with a bloody nose. Go and pray with this person, listen to them, cry with them, grieve alongside them, and rejoice when God shows His mercy to them.

V 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,”

I often wondered, why Job? I mean if God Himself said that there was no one like Job, Why the troubles that came upon him? As you read Job you will discover that Job possessed pride that kept him from being all that God wanted him to be. God tests the genuineness of our faith, not because He enjoys seeing His people suffer, but because He wants to rid us of the impurities that hinder us from being all what He wants us to be. Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to study the scriptures.
While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable
expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier
of silver" (Malachi 3:3

One lady proposed to visit a silversmith, and report to them on
what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling
the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her about the
process of refining silver. After he had fully described it to her, she
asked, "But Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?" "Oh,
yes madam," replied the silversmith; "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed
on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the
slightest degree, the silver will be injured."
The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, "He
shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.". God sees it needful to put
His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of
purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for
us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested
beyond what we can endure. Before she left, the lady asked one final
question, "When do you know the process is complete?" "Why, that is quite
simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the
silver, the refining process is finished." Author unknown.

God wants to do so much more through than our minds can even grasp the reality of, but in the way are the impurities that a life of sin has left behind. I was talking to my wife and mentioned that it is funny how the events of our past shape our future. God has a glorious future for us, if He could just rid us of the Junk.

V8 “whom having not seen your love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of Glory,”

As I got to know and spend more time with my wife, as we were dating, I grew to love her. Peter is writing to people that never met Jesus, but accepted Him by faith. It that way they began a relationship with the Lord, which outshines that of those who knew Him during His earthly ministry. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ brings Him into the heart, with that indwelling all His virtues become known, and His excellence discovered, in a far greater way than could be known to those who knew Him while on earth.

What is inexpressible joy? I know that during a Ohio State football game I have no trouble expressing joy when they score and win a game, but how can I have joy that is inexpressible? 1Corinthians 2:9 says; “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” So this joy is expressed in faith for the kingdom we can only imagine. I have often thought of the new colors that will be known in heaven, of the different smell that will overwhelm the senses, and can’t imagine the sensory overload that we will experience that first day in heaven, when our salvation will become complete. A joy full of glory, for it expressed in faith, faith is the evidence of things not seen, and the substance of things hoped for. By faith we receive our relationship with God as our Father, and our sonship with Jesus Christ.

V9. “receiving the end of your faith-the salvation of your souls.” Again by faith, receiving the completion of our salvation, experiencing the first fruits of our salvation, in being delivered from a state of wrath. The soul is what was lost, so the soul is the primary concern of salvation. The body will share in redemption, but the soul of the believer is already saved.