1 Peter 1:3-9
Easter, April 12, 2020
First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
Bart W. Newton, Preaching Minister
(Abbreviations for Bible translations that may be quoted: ESV = English Standard Version; NLT = New Living Translation; CSB = Christian Standard Bible; GW = God’s Word; Amplified Bible = AMP; KJV = King James Version; New King James Version = NKJV; The Message = MSG; KNT = Kingdom New Testament)
The following outline is merely the main points along with other Scriptures and quotes of authors referenced during the sermon.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (ESV)
By God’s mercy, we have been born into a living hope (v. 3)
• “Mercy” = “withholding punish due to us”
• “People hungered for hope in the first century. We still do today. Biblical hope is patient optimism—a confident expectation rooted in the steadfast promises of God. A hopeful person can say, ‘In the present, I’m confident about the future, because of what God has done in the past.”—David Faust, Faith Under Fire, p. 32
• We’re born into a hope that is living only because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
• This “hope” is not wishful-thinking but an assurance of eternal salvation based on something that stands forever, that can be counted on with confidence.
• 1 Corinthians 15:14: 14If Christ hasn’t come back to life, our message has no meaning and your faith also has no meaning…20 But now Christ has come back from the dead. He is the very first person of those who have died to come back to life….57 Thank God that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (GW)
• To become a Christian, there has to be a re-birth—a born again—experience.
• John 3:3, 5: 3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…5 … unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (ESV)
In Paul’s encouragement to Titus, he mentions God’s mercy, the new birth, and eternal life:
• Titus 3:4-7: 4 But—
When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. (NLT)
• 1 Peter 3:21: Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (CSB)
“At baptism a life of sin-rebellion against God, refusal to serve his lordship, rejection of his love—is drowned and new life in Christ is resurrected out of it.” –Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder, p. 142
• But what is present even before our confession of faith, repentance, and baptism? The seed of God’s Word:
• 1 Peter 1:23: You have been born again, not from a seed that can be destroyed, but through God’s everlasting word that can’t be destroyed. (GW)
• 1 Peter 2:2: Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation (GW).
• When it comes to reading and studying the Bible, Henry Blackaby writes, “Don’t settle for information, strive for transformation.” Being Still with God, Sep 25.
By God’s mercy, we have been born into an eternal inheritance (v. 4).
• Colossians 3:23-24: 23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. (CSB)
• Romans 8:16-17: 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (CSB)
By God’s mercy, our faith results in receiving His protective power (v. 5).
• “Guarded” = military term referring to God’s shielding of His people who put and keep their trust in Him—who give Him their allegiance.
• God is involved by guarding us and we’re involved by trusting Him!
• The born again person is protected by God’s power through faith: “…because you are trusting him.” (NLT)
• Practicing faith (allegiance) in Jesus Christ assures the Christian of salvation!
By God’s mercy, our faith has an opportunity to grow and develop through all kinds of necessary difficulties (vv. 6-7).
• Peter says at times our trials are necessary!
• Trials prove to us and others the authenticity of our faith in him. Will we trust Him and give allegiance even though the present situation looks bleak?
• “When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat.” –Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful, p. 24
• Romans 8:28-29: 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (CSB)
• Trials do not last long compared to eternity:
• 1 Peter 5:10: The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. (CSB)
• 2 Cor 4:17-18: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)
• Hebrews 12:2: We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. (GW)
• During this crisis in the USA, maybe we Christians are better learning how to be the church, instead of being satisfied with merely going to church!
• There is a lot of grieving going on . It’s OK to lament. It’s something we have to do before we can move in the direction God is leading us.
“Grief and loss go together in Christian faith with vision and hope in a singular way, because they are the story of Cross and Resurrection. There is no greater grief than Calvary, the crucifixion of the very Son of God by the ones he came to save. There is no greater hope than Easter. And the risen Lord of Easter made himself known to his disciples by the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. When we rise and reign with him over the new creation, he will be in appearance like a Lamb that was slain. We, too, will bear our scars, and the leaders of our worship will be the martyrs, the ones who sacrificed everything to bear witness to him.
“Christian creativity begins with grief — the grief of a world gone wrong. It enfolds it in lament — the loud cry of Good Friday, the silence of Holy Saturday — and still comes to the tomb early Sunday morning. We are burying and saying goodbye to so much in these days, and around the world people are burying and saying goodbye to those they loved. But we do not grieve without hope. If we grieve with Jesus, and make room for others to grieve, we can hope to be visited by the Comforter, the Spirit who breathed over creation before it was even formed. And that Spirit will guide us in the choices we have to make, even on the hardest days that are ahead. (“Leading Beyond the Blizzard: Why Every Organization Is Now a Startup”
by Andy Crouch, Kurt Keilhacker, and Dave Blanchard)
By God’s mercy, we can love and trust our unseen Savior (v.8)
• John 20:29: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”--Jesus (NIV)
• 2 Corinthians 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight. (CSB)
By God’s mercy, we are already beginning to experience what we’re aiming for—salvation of our total person (v. 9)
• Because we believe in Who we cannot yet see, we are presently receiving what eventually will be seen at the coming of Christ.
• “How can we rejoice through our pain? How can we have hope beyond our suffering? Because we have a living hope, we have a permanent inheritance, we have divine protection, we have a developing faith, we have an unseen Savior, and we have a guaranteed deliverance.” –Chuck Swindoll