1 Peter 1:3-7

I Peter 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (NIV).

   Back in 2006, I studied this entire book of I Peter for months. I have entries galore in an old journal. Yet as I study I Peter afresh here for the second time, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I find this passage alone to be overwhelming, because it encompasses the whole shebang: past, present, and future. I like rock music. One of my favorite songs is “Don’t Look Back” by one of my favorite groups, Boston. I think there is a good point to that song about progressing to a better way of life, yet each and every individual is still impacted by his or her past, even if she or he is trying to forget it. The past is important to God.
   Then there is the present. Sometimes I make the mistake of be willing to make the most of the present as soon as my present involves a wife, a better car, and a number of other things. Then there is the ever coming future, which seems uncertain. Fortunately for anyone who is willing to listen to the message of God even in this passage of Peter, there is no need to be overwhelmed. As we are immersed in the past, present, and future, there is a hope in it all; Jesus Christ. In the past, Peter is telling us that Jesus was raised from the dead! In the present, we can have new birth. This new birth is spiritual, and the result is enabling hope for perseverence towards a glorious future, even if there is horrible suffering in the present. Finally in the future, there is heaven, being with Jesus in full forever, for the faithful.
   I spent time earlier focused on the importance of Peter being an apostle. Apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Thus we are reliant on their God inspired witness to strengthen our faith as we experienced the living Christ day by day. Because of what took place almost 2,000 years ago, a follower of Jesus can celebrate Easter every day proclaiming, “Christ is risen; the Lord is risen indeed.” And how do you become a follower of Jesus, considering that you cannot even see Him now? Interesting how I have heard much about the teaching on salvation coming by grace through faith as taught by Paul. Yet Peter is saying the same thing here. The Father raised Jesus from dead, and we can be incorporated into the fruit of that resurrection by faith in Jesus. “I believe in Jesus!”
   Then we have new spiritual birth! Being born again is a spiritual event, involving being bonded with God, reason to praise God for the rest of our days. Yet to get personal, I can note how when I turned to Jesus in 1990, I went through what I would call a “honeymoon” period, where I was simply elated to be in a relationship with Jesus. But then a time of hardship came in my life, namely having to do with the start of my dating life, which was severely lacking. (Yes, even though I started dated when I was older and more mature, I still did not get a girlfriend.) Even amidst the hardship there were blessings from God, but sometimes I did not “feel” born again. Sometimes I felt like I was having the same problems as everyone else. Yet spiritual rebirth is only a starting point, and growth in Christ involves challenges and pain. Yet a person willing to do God’s will is improved all along. And reason remains all along to praise God.
   On top of growing pains, then the possibility is presented that there may be suffering solely due to be a Christian. If you were ever passed up for a raise when you would have received that raise had you not been an enthusiastic Christian, then you have suffered because of being a Christian whether that was evident or not. There is much subtle suffering by Christians in this day and age. In Peter’s time, the suffering taking place due to persecution was horrendous. Peter brings up the subject of suffering, and he will discuss this in depth later on in this letter. For now, may we keep in mind that persecution of Christians by certain Roman emperors in the early period of Christianity seemed relentless. In reading Ecclesiastical History, sick persecution kept coming in waves. A great miracle to be seen from early Christian history is that Christians kept flourishing in spite of opposition which only God could thwart. God was there at every juncture to thwart tidal wave opposition. And keep in mind we are reading a letter by a man who would soon have to watch his wife be crucified(1). And then he himself was crucified upside down(2).
   And then there is the future. Peter speaks of an inheritance in heaven. Such talk always seems to be a rough transition, going from the tangible nature of this world to the intangible “heaven.” Some people see heaven as more of fantasy thinking. Yet not for Peter, since Peter is focused on Jesus. Recall that Peter is One who realized that Jesus had come from heaven (Matthew 16:16), and Peter was an eyewitness of Jesus ascending into heaven (Acts 1:9). Peter had reason to trust the promise of Jesus that a disciple will gain the inheritance of eternal life in heaven.
   I mentioned the rock band Boston earlier. Shifting from rock music, I grew up with my mom being a giant John Denver fan. I have seen John Denver in concert eight times, and a number of those times I was with my mom. Having seen many music concerts, I rank John Denver’s concerts as some of the best, for the reason that every time John Denver was performing, I got the conviction there was no other place in the world John Denver would have rather been at that moment than on a stage playing guitar and singing. He totally loved it. Once at a concert at an amphitheater in Maryland, John was talking between songs. He spoke of how you need to have hope. Then he continued on saying you even need to have more than hope, you need to have faith. His statement made an impression on me, because he made that vague statement with such conviction.
   In reflection, the words are not the key issue, rather the key issue is the subject. Hope in what? Faith in who? Salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Peter, an Apostle of Jesus, was a witness of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. Peter, baptized with the Holy Spirit, is assuring us that the salvation of Jesus is reason to praise God in the present. Eternal life in Jesus is going to be a reality in the future. Peter is preaching Jesus! This is not blind faith! We have reason to have faith in Jesus right now, because of what He has done in the past, and what He has promised for the future.
Hunter Irvine

(1) Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers; Translations of The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (1885; repr., Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 2:541.

(2) Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 67.