1 Peter 1:3 - Meaning and Application

We now come to the main body of the letter. Peter begins with a thanksgiving to God that also honors the believers he is writing to. Other letters begin in a similar way (2 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:3). Here he first gives the duty itself, blessing God, that is, speaking well of him and freely admitting his greatness and joy.

He then names the one he blesses as “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This names God in relation to Jesus Christ, and Peter speaks of Christ by three titles that show his work. He is Lord, the supreme ruler; Jesus, the Savior and priest; and Christ, the anointed one, the prophet who has the Spirit and every gift needed to teach, guide, and save the church. God is called the God of Christ because of Christ’s human nature, and the Father of Christ because of his divine nature.

Peter next gives the reason for this thanksgiving, God’s rich mercy. Every blessing we have comes from God’s mercy, not from human merit, especially the new birth. God has given us new birth, and that should move us to thank him. It also gives us a strong hope, not the empty, dead, fading hope of worldly people and hypocrites, but a living hope, one that is active, strong, and lasting. That hope stands on a firm base, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

A true Christian never lacks reason to bless God, no matter how hard life becomes. Just as a sinner always has reason to grieve, even when life goes well, God’s people have reason to rejoice and praise him even in many troubles. In prayer and praise, we should come to God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because only through him are we and our service accepted. Our best blessings come from God’s abundant mercy. All the evil in the world comes from human sin, but all the good comes from God’s mercy.

New birth is especially credited to God’s abundant mercy, and so is everything else that follows from it. We depend entirely on mercy. For the meaning of the new birth, see John 3:3. New birth gives rise to a living hope of eternal life. An unconverted person is without true hope, whatever confident words he may use. Real Christian hope comes from being born again by God’s Spirit. It does not come from human nature, but from free grace. Those who are brought into new spiritual life are also brought into new spiritual hope.

Christian hope is living hope. The hope of eternal life keeps a believer alive, strengthens him, supports him, and leads him toward heaven. Hope stirs the soul to action, patience, courage, and perseverance to the end. The false hopes of the unconverted are empty and short-lived. The hypocrite and his hope die together (Job 27:8).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation of Christian hope. Christ’s resurrection is the act of the Father as Judge and of the Son as conqueror. It shows that the Father accepts Christ’s death as full payment for our ransom, and that Christ has overcome death, the grave, and all our spiritual enemies. It also assures us of our own resurrection. Since Christ and his people are joined together, they rise because of his resurrection as their head, not merely because of his power as Judge. We have been raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1). Taken together, these truths give Christians two strong foundations for hoping for eternal life.

Peter then describes that life as an inheritance, which is a fitting way to speak to these believers. They were poor and persecuted, and some may have been driven from the property they had been born to. To ease that pain, Peter tells them they have been born again to a better inheritance, far greater than what they lost. Most of them were Jews, too, and loved the land of Canaan as their God-given inheritance. To be driven out from the Lord’s inheritance was seen as a serious judgment (1 Samuel 26:19). So Peter comforts them with the thought of a noble inheritance kept for them in heaven, of which Canaan was only a shadow.

Heaven is the true inheritance of all God’s children. Everyone who is born again is born to an inheritance, just as a father makes his child his heir. If we are children, then we are heirs too (Romans 8:17). God gives gifts to all, but the inheritance belongs only to his children. Those who are his sons and daughters by new birth and adoption receive the promise of eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15). This inheritance is not something we buy. It is our Father’s gift, not wages we earn. Grace first makes us children, then settles the inheritance on us through a firm, unchanging covenant.

This inheritance has four great excellences. First, it is incorruptible. In this it is like its Maker, who is called the incorruptible God (Romans 1:23). Corruption means change from better to worse, but heaven has no change and no end. It is an eternal house in the heavens, and those who possess it must live forever, because what is corruptible must put on incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:53). Second, it is undefiled, like the great high priest who now possesses it, who is holy, harmless, and undefiled (Hebrews 7:26). Sin and misery, the two great stains that spoil this world, have no place there.

Third, it does not fade away. Its beauty and strength never wear out, and it always delights the saints who possess it, with no boredom or weariness. Fourth, it is “kept in heaven for you.” This tells us three things. It is a glorious inheritance, because it is in heaven, and everything there is glorious (Ephesians 1:18). It is secure, because it is kept safely in another world until we receive it. And the people for whom it is kept are described not by name, but by character, for you, or us, or everyone who has been born again to a living hope. That inheritance is preserved for them alone, and everyone else will be kept out forever.

Since this inheritance is future and far away, both in time and place, Peter assumes that some fear or doubt may still remain. They may wonder whether they could lose it on the way.

Even though this happiness is kept safe in heaven, we are still on earth. Here we face many temptations, troubles, and weaknesses. So the question is, are we in such a secure state that we will surely reach it? Peter answers that believers will be safely guarded and brought there. They will be kept from every destructive temptation and injury that could keep them from eternal life.

An heir to an earthly estate has no certainty that he will live long enough to enjoy it. But the heirs of heaven will certainly be brought safely into their inheritance. The blessing promised here is preservation: you are kept. The one who keeps is God. The means he uses in us are our faith and carefulness. The goal is salvation, and the time when this safe outcome will be seen is the last time.

This shows God’s tender care for his people. He does not only give them grace, he also keeps them for glory. Being kept means there is real danger, but also real rescue. Believers may be attacked, but they will not be defeated.

The preservation of the new life in Christ, that is, the life God gives in regeneration, all the way to eternal life is the work of God’s power. The work is too great, the enemies are too many, and our weakness is too deep for any power except almighty power to carry the soul safely to salvation. That is why Scripture often presents salvation as the effect of divine power (2 Corinthians 12:9; Romans 14:4).

But God’s power in preserving us does not cancel our duty to strive for our own salvation. Here we find both God’s power and human faith. Such faith includes a sincere desire for salvation, trust in Christ according to his invitations and promises, careful effort to do what pleases God and avoid what offends him, a hatred of temptation, concern for the reward God promises, and steady prayer. By this patient, active, conquering faith, we are kept by God’s grace until salvation. Faith is a powerful protection for the soul, carrying it through grace and into glory.

This salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time. Three things are said here about the salvation of the saints. First, it is already prepared and stored up for them in heaven. Second, though it is prepared now, it is still largely hidden and not fully seen, not only by the blind world that never looks for it, but even by the heirs of salvation themselves. It does not yet appear what we shall be (1 John 3:2). Third, it will be fully revealed in the last time, at the final judgment.

Life and immortality are now brought to light through the gospel, but this life will shine more brightly at death, when the soul is admitted into Christ’s presence and sees his glory. Even beyond that, there will be a final and fuller unveiling of the greatness of the saints’ blessedness at the last day. Then their bodies will be raised and joined again to their souls, judgment will be given concerning angels and men, and Christ will publicly honor and praise his servants before the whole world.