A LETTER FROM PETER
Chapter 1 – Part 2
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have
been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live
with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an
inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the
reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is
protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to
be revealed on the last day for all to see.
Peter now
moves on to reinforce that basis of our hope: salvation through Jesus. There is
a sense of a doxology here which acknowledges the majesty and place of God and
Jesus. He indelibly links God the Father to God the Son and in so doing takes
humanity into the possibility of an authentic and intimate relationship with
God.
He wants
his readers to understand that their place before God as born again people is
solely made possible by an act of great mercy in the death and resurrection of
Jesus, as the lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Nothing they could
ever say or do is able to repair the relationship with the Creator God, broken
by sin.
Could my tears forever
flow?
Could my zeal no languor know?
These for sin can not atone
Thou must save and thou alone
In my hand no price I bring
Simply to thy cross I cling
Could my zeal no languor know?
These for sin can not atone
Thou must save and thou alone
In my hand no price I bring
Simply to thy cross I cling
Peter is
intent to explain that their new life. This business of being born again is
solely an act of God and has no sense of human intervention. The only human
interaction is faith and acceptance. Humanity has no credits to offer in this
process. But to all who believed him and
accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not
with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that
comes from God. (John 1:12- 13 - NLT). When a
person has come to the place of realising and accepting these conditions and
exercising faith, they are reborn into God’s family as a child and heir.
The
foundation of this new birth and adoption into God’s family rest entirely on
the redeeming death and resurrection of Jesus. No other way was, or will ever
be possible. There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus and his
redemptive sacrifice.
Herein lays
our hope and our destiny, our promised expectation, our priceless treasure and
an inheritance that is kept in heaven for
you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. The reality
is that everything we think we possess in this life is but temporary and
corruptible. Sooner or later our material possessions will lessen and decay and
we will surrender them to others. The only permanency we really possess is the inheritance that is kept in heaven.
Once again
Peter returns to the only thing we contribute in this salvation plan: our faith
and it is through and because of this faith that the power of God covers and
protects us. There is a sense in which our salvation, although promised and
secured by the sacrifice of Jesus, finds its ultimate destiny in heaven when we
will be complete and perfect.
And now, a reality check
6 So be truly
glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials
for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is
genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith
is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through
many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when
Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
Understand,
says Peter, that it’s not all a bed of roses and try and see what lies ahead of
you from God’s eternal perspective. Here comes the crunch; unfortunately, we
have to live and survive in the here and now and that in itself is a
significant challenge. In spite of our spiritual restoration we still live in
earthen vessels with all their weaknesses and fallibilities, and on occasions,
it is extremely difficult to maintain an eternal perspective in times of trial
and suffering.
Peter’s
advice to be truly glad at such times
seems a bit heavy and perhaps devoid of empathy and sensitivity. However, the
disciple living the kingdom lifestyle has at their disposal copious quantities
of God’s grace.
Paul had to
confront one of the great human weaknesses that plague Christian and unbeliever
alike; the refusal to acknowledge our weaknesses. We all want to appear strong
and all too often try to project a false image of strength and stoicism. It is
only when we abandon any sense of self-deception and image projection and truly
rely on God’s grace that Peter’s words make sense; So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead.
Untested
faith is, in a sense, unknown faith and in such circumstances leaves us wondering
as to its durability and permanence. Like gold, our faith needs to refined and
tested if it has to have any value to us at all. As I read this passage the words of Lucy
Booth Hellberg came to mind.
1 - When you feel weakest, dangers surround,
Subtle temptations, troubles abound,
Nothing seems hopeful, nothing seems glad,
All is despairing, everything sad:
Keep on believing, Jesus is near;
Keep on believing, there's nothing to fear;
Keep on believing, this is the way;
Faith in the night as well as the day.
Keep on believing, there's nothing to fear;
Keep on believing, this is the way;
Faith in the night as well as the day.
2 - If all were easy, if all were bright,
Where would the cross be, and where the fight?
But in the hardness, God gives to you
Chances of proving that you are true.
3 - God is your wisdom, God is your might,
God's ever near you, guiding aright;
He understands you, knows all you need;
Trusting in him you'll surely succeed.
4 - Let us press on then, never despair,
Live above feeling, victory's there;
Jesus can keep us so near to him
That nevermore our faith shall grow dim.
(Lucy Booth
Hellberg)
 |
| St Paul in prison |
Paul is living proof that in the most trying of
circumstances, even when these trials and sufferings are multi-faceted and
beyond our mental capacity, God’s grace is even more multi-faceted and beyond
anything that our limited imagination can conceive. The reality of life is our
humanness with all its weaknesses, failings and doubt, is a fact we cannot
deny. In our most honest and self-confronting moments we know, deep down, our
own fragility, and it scares us. It is in those moments of our greatest
weakness that grace comes flooding our being through the Spirit of God.
At the moment of my weakness
when my need for power is plain,
And my own strength is exhausted once again.
Then my Lord has made provision for the day of my despair,
And His precious Holy Spirit hears my prayer, my prayer.
Then my Lord has made provision for the day of my despair,
And His precious Holy Spirit hears my prayer.
Holy Spirit!
Promised presence fall on me.
Promised presence fall on me.
Holy Spirit!
Make me all I long to
be.
Holy Spirit! Holy
Spirit!
Give Your power to me,
O Holy Spirit.
(John Gowans)
Trust brings reward
8 You love him
even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust
him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward
for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
Once again
we must return to Paul’s definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13, to understand
what loving Jesus is all about. In moments of high spiritual fervor, there may
well be strong emotions and feelings, and that is natural. But love for Jesus
calls for a practical and active response within the kingdom lifestyle and it
begins with an active obedience to His way, and a response by believers to his
call to take up our cross daily and follow Him. It is in obedience and
sacrifice that we clearly demonstrate our love for Him.
Peter can
fully appreciate that as a disciple of Jesus he had a privilege few others
possessed, that of personally knowing Jesus in the flesh. Because of this, he
can fully appreciate the love and faith of his readers in the early church who
had never seen the Lord. Jesus even had a special word to any about those who
would faithfully follow him in faith, never having physically seen Him. Then Jesus told him (Thomas), “You believe
because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:29 - NLT) Perhaps
there is a sense in which a special faith is required of those who believe without seeing and it may
well be that Jesus is bestowing a blessing on those who believe without seeing.
Perhaps it
is this implicit belief in the physically unseen Jesus that believers build
their trust and confidence. As the storm clouds of persecution began to gather
around them, these fledgeling Christians would need a confidence and trust
beyond the norm and I am reminded of the words of pioneer Salvationist John
Lawley which seem to fit the message Peter is trying to get across.
1 - Though
thunders roll and darkened be the sky,
I'll trust in thee!
I'll trust in thee!
Though joys may fade and prospects droop and die,
I'll trust in thee!
No light may shine upon life's rugged way,
Sufficient is thy grace from day to day.
2 - I'm not outside thy providential care,
I'll trust in thee!
I'll walk by faith thy chosen cross to bear,
I'll trust in thee!
Thy will and wish I know are for the best,
This gives to me abundant peace and rest.
3 - Thy word is sure, thy promise never fails,
I'll trust in thee!
A hiding place thou art when Hell assails,
I'll trust in thee!
I conquer all while hiding 'neath thy wing,
And in the storm sweet songs of triumph sing.
4 - I'm pressing on towards my home in Heaven,
I'll trust in thee!
Where crowns of life to faithful ones are given,
I'll trust in thee!
This hope is mine, through Jesus crucified,
And all through grace I shall be glorified.
(John Lawley - 1859-1922)
Video meditation: I'll trust in thee (Click on or paste the following link)
https://youtu.be/Z3Km6Hh26gI
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