3 Blessed be
the God and 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 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.
Vs. 3 The Apostle Peter having addressed his epistle to the pilgrims (i.e. believers) scattered abroad in verses 1-2. Now opens his epistle with a resounding word of praise:
"Blessed be the God and 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"
There is a lot of theology there in that one verse, but at the heart of it all is a reverential and heartfelt thanksgiving and worship of God the Father for all that He has done in sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross for all our sins. So that with Jesus having first made atonement for all our sins. He then rose from the dead to so that we can all become recipients of His life and God's everlasting mercies the moment we believe in Him. And so we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Vs. 4-5 "to an 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."
This is the second part of Peters praise and declaration that began in verse three and continues here in verses four and five. And it is all because of Jesus' Perfect Person and Perfect Sacrifice, being without moral spot, or spiritual blemish by which Jesus having taken all our sins upon Himself, God now imputes His righteousness to us; so that by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ's Person we are declared righteousness in the sight of God. An amazing gift of righteousness that God gives to us all who believe in His Son. And so Jesus having risen from the dead then ascended back to the Father, to His everlasting place of Power, Prestige and Privilege, He not only watches over us all who believe in Him here and now. But He Himself also is the Guarantor of our eternal salvation and inheritance with God Himself in heaven, so all things in Christ that we have are reserved in heaven for us (vs. 4). For rest assured what Jesus has done by suffering death on the cross for us will never be forgotten by God, so that we all who received the love of the truth and put our trust in Jesus Christ can be assured that He Himself is not only the Guarantor of our souls salvation here and now, but also Jesus Himself is the Guardian of our internal inheritances with Himself. And so it is promised that that our inheritance with Christ is not only uncorrupted and undefiled, because that is what He is, and what He has done for us, it is also reserved in heaven for us (vs. 4). For it is being kept by the power of God, reserved in heaven for us, for the day when we will meet Jesus face to face and receive our full inheritances in heaven then. Thus the Scripture says not only are our inheritances being reserved for us, but we ourselves are being kept by the power of God through faith, for the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. For it is then, and only then when we will see God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ and ourselves, and each other with a perfect clarity (see 1 Cor 13:12). Thus that salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time is what we all who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ (throughout all ages) will share and fully enjoy with Jesus Christ in our Perfected states as He Himself is already there, Perfected in heaven. And thus there will be a grand display of manifold wisdom of God of His Most Glorious Magnificence and Perfect excellence bestowed on us all In Christ, and through Christ, and because of Jesus Christ His Son being in us and manifested through us (1 John 3:2).
Now the opening phrase in verse three which Peter begins his thanksgiving with, similarly appears in two of the Apostle Paul's epistles in 2 Cor 1:3 and Eph. 1:3. And though there is a congruency between them, all three seem uniquely born out of Holy Spirit inspiration and thanksgiving rather then some sort of man-made formulated liturgical arrangement. For truly all heart-felt praise and thanksgiving towards God the Father is born out of having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ His Son. And so as all things begin with God so all praise flows back to Him for His having sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for our sins and bring about our salvation. And this Jesus did when He rose from the dead on the third day. While the word translated blessed here is exclusively used of God and or praising God in the N.T (see Mark 14:61; Luke 1:68; Rom 1:25; 9:25; 2 Cor 11:31).
There is a lot of theology there in that one verse, but at the heart of it all is a reverential and heartfelt thanksgiving and worship of God the Father for all that He has done in sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross for all our sins. So that with Jesus having first made atonement for all our sins. He then rose from the dead to so that we can all become recipients of His life and God's everlasting mercies the moment we believe in Him. And so we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Vs. 4-5 "to an 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."
This is the second part of Peters praise and declaration that began in verse three and continues here in verses four and five. And it is all because of Jesus' Perfect Person and Perfect Sacrifice, being without moral spot, or spiritual blemish by which Jesus having taken all our sins upon Himself, God now imputes His righteousness to us; so that by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ's Person we are declared righteousness in the sight of God. An amazing gift of righteousness that God gives to us all who believe in His Son. And so Jesus having risen from the dead then ascended back to the Father, to His everlasting place of Power, Prestige and Privilege, He not only watches over us all who believe in Him here and now. But He Himself also is the Guarantor of our eternal salvation and inheritance with God Himself in heaven, so all things in Christ that we have are reserved in heaven for us (vs. 4). For rest assured what Jesus has done by suffering death on the cross for us will never be forgotten by God, so that we all who received the love of the truth and put our trust in Jesus Christ can be assured that He Himself is not only the Guarantor of our souls salvation here and now, but also Jesus Himself is the Guardian of our internal inheritances with Himself. And so it is promised that that our inheritance with Christ is not only uncorrupted and undefiled, because that is what He is, and what He has done for us, it is also reserved in heaven for us (vs. 4). For it is being kept by the power of God, reserved in heaven for us, for the day when we will meet Jesus face to face and receive our full inheritances in heaven then. Thus the Scripture says not only are our inheritances being reserved for us, but we ourselves are being kept by the power of God through faith, for the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. For it is then, and only then when we will see God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ and ourselves, and each other with a perfect clarity (see 1 Cor 13:12). Thus that salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time is what we all who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ (throughout all ages) will share and fully enjoy with Jesus Christ in our Perfected states as He Himself is already there, Perfected in heaven. And thus there will be a grand display of manifold wisdom of God of His Most Glorious Magnificence and Perfect excellence bestowed on us all In Christ, and through Christ, and because of Jesus Christ His Son being in us and manifested through us (1 John 3:2).
Now the opening phrase in verse three which Peter begins his thanksgiving with, similarly appears in two of the Apostle Paul's epistles in 2 Cor 1:3 and Eph. 1:3. And though there is a congruency between them, all three seem uniquely born out of Holy Spirit inspiration and thanksgiving rather then some sort of man-made formulated liturgical arrangement. For truly all heart-felt praise and thanksgiving towards God the Father is born out of having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ His Son. And so as all things begin with God so all praise flows back to Him for His having sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for our sins and bring about our salvation. And this Jesus did when He rose from the dead on the third day. While the word translated blessed here is exclusively used of God and or praising God in the N.T (see Mark 14:61; Luke 1:68; Rom 1:25; 9:25; 2 Cor 11:31).
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982
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