A living hope
Saturday, January 6th, 2007
1 Peter 1:3-5
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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
What has He done? He’s given us new birth which has led us into something - a living hope! The reason the hope is living is because Jesus is living - that’s what the next phrase means - a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In other words, if Jesus Christ is not alive, then the whole thing is finished. But, says Peter, “I know He’s alive because I saw Him - and I talked with Him! And He came to me and met me on the shore and He said to me, ‘Peter, do you still love me?’, and I said, ‘Yeah, I do!’ And He said, ‘Feed my sheep.’ And that’s why I’m writing you this letter in obedience to the risen Lord Jesus.” And he says to the scattered Christians persecuted by those around him, “I want you to know that in your hearts He has transferred you from the realm of the hopeless into the realm of the hopeful.”
- Alistair Begg, Truth For Life ministries
