A Heavenly Inheritence

During the next weeks I will be doing a study on the two epistle letters from Peter. He wrote his first epistle letter in the early sixties A.D. to the Christians in Asia Minor. They were suffering persecution at the hands of those who did not understand the live style change they had undergone because of their rebirth into the kingdom of God. They were mostly converted Gentiles who came out of a life of lewdness, drunkenness and idolatries. Although their suffering was a fiery trial, it did not entail martyrdom as yet.

The First Epistle of Peter
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of Dispersion in Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of The Spirit, for the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 3 Blessed be the God and the 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 in inheritance incorruptible and undefiled 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, through now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the gentleness 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 your 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. 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things which angels desire to look into.
V1. The pilgrims of dispersion referred to in the KJV as, “strangers scattered throughout”, could mean the Jewish pilgrims who were taking the gospel to the world, but can also refer to those suffering persecution from their brethren who did not understand their believe in Christ. We as Christians are pilgrims in a world that is increasingly hostile to the gospel of Christ. Most are willing to concede that there is a God, but mention Jesus and the need for a savior and they don’t want to hear it, or bristle up at the thought that they are sinners in need of a savior. As I watch the invocation delivered at NASCAR events, I have watched as most bow their heads as the invocation is delivered, but there are a few who refuse to do this. They stand proudly as though defiant to any notion of the existence of a God. Many even our closet friends and family do not understand our conviction to the gospel, and our dedication to the Lord. Yet we are called to take the gospel to these same people.
V2. Peter calls those who he is writing to ‘elect’. As we approach Nov. and near the election of a president, this word becomes more meaningful, but what was Peter referring to in this passage. In Matt. 24:31, at the return of Christ, it says that His angels shall gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. God has always set apart a people who are faithful to Him and are called by His name. So the election comes from God and not man, according to the foreknowledge of God. The Rev. J. Wesley penned it this way; “Strictly speaking there is no foreknowledge, no more than after knowledge, with God; but all things are known to Him as present, from eternity to eternity. Election, in the spiritual sense, is God’s doing anything that our merit or power has no part in. The true predestination or fore appointment of God is, 1. He that believeth shall be saved from the guilt and power of sin. 2. He that endures to the end shall be saved eternally. 3. Those who receive the precious gift of faith thereby become the sons of God; and, being sons, they shall receive the Spirit of Holiness, to walk as Christ walked.” That we might not think ourselves special in that we have chosen salvation, and become proud in that we are set apart for eternity, election into God’s kingdom comes from God. We heard the call of God on our lives, admitted that we indeed needed to be saved from destruction and the lives that we led, and received the precious gift of God, in His Son Jesus Christ. God was not the one lost, we were, we did not choose God or salvation, but God chose us and we only accepted the free gift of God. We walk daily in the grace of God, and are no better than the sinner who continues in their sin, but can only confess that there but for the grace of God go I!
This helps me to not look at those who are in church every time the door is opened, sing in the choir, serve as an usher, or even teach, as I do, and wonder how can they serve God in that manner and do what you outside of the church, but to look to God and be accountable for what I do inside and outside the church. This leads into the next line in this passage; ‘in sanctification of the Spirit’. This is the means by which the elect are pointed out, set apart by the gospel, and the word of the Spirit. Sanctification signifies the setting apart for the use of God, walking in obedience enabled by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. Again even our obedience is subject to the aid of the blood of Christ. We are not able to walk in obedience to God, without God. To many times I struggle and say that I am not going to do this or that, only to embrace the very thing that I say I am not going to do, wanting to walk in obedience to God, but unable to do it without God.
V.3 “has begotten us again to a living hope” Begotten means to birth, God has not only given us new life in His Son Jesus Christ, but He has also given us hope. I like that Peter chose to use ‘living hope’ for that is exactly what it is. Before our birth into the kingdom of God, we faced death, we may have thought that we would squeak into heaven on our own merits, but there was that doubt that kept us weak in trouble. I heard a story of two boys about to drown, that one didn’t want to hear another word about Jesus. With water up to their necks and no hope of rescue, he suddenly wanted the clam and sureness that his friend displayed. He confessed that he wanted to hear more about this Jesus that gave him hope. Unfortunately I lost the signal and did not know the outcome of the drama, knowing the show I am sure that the two were rescued at the last minute. When faced with death the boy wanted to live, and if the only way he could live was to live in Christ he wanted it. Without this hope, which comes from God, we when faced with the possibility of death, tend to give up. Many have lost the will to live, but the hope of resurrection gives us a peace that there is a tomorrow, there is hope there is live. I found a story on the internet that expresses this well.
The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind."
The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live."
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?" Bits & Pieces, July 1991.
V4. What is our hope for, but an inheritance, given to the children of God, into everlasting life. Many try to prolong their lives through exercise, good eating, and careful living. Everlasting life is a gift from God given to His children who have accepted His Son as their savior. It is incorruptible, which defers from anything that the earth can offer. Even the greatest inheritance can be corrupted and can corrupt. This gift of salvation can not be corrupted for it does not come from man, but from God. It is undefiled, in that no impurity exists in it. Nor can any impurity enter it, thus we can not receive it on our own merits. It does not fade away, in that it never loses its beauty. In working in the yard today, I noticed several of my flowers losing their beauty and their smell had faded away. Eternal life will never fade with the coming of winter, losing nothing that it owns when we first enter into it. That is exciting to me that the excitement of eternity in heaven will be renewed each and every day. Finally, it is reserved for us in heaven, far removed from the trouble of this earth. Where we will see the incorruptible one who has purchased eternal life for us, we shall come face to face with the King of kings, the Lord of lords, our Rock and our Redeemer. I long for that day, as the elect of God, set aside for His purpose, and an heir to the inheritance of eternal life, that gives me hope to endure till the day I too will bow my knee before Christ and enter into His kingdom that He has prepared for me.