Well, let us turn to God's words
in that portion that we read in the first epistle general
of Peter, chapter 1, and I'll read again verses 3 and 4 after
the normal words of greeting that we have in the first two
verses. Peter then says in verse 3, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope,
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you." We often speak of the blessed or
the precious things, I should say, that are contained here
in the epistles of Peter. But besides speaking of those
precious things, he does also speak of lively things. He goes on to speak of believers
as those lively or living stones. that I built up a spiritual temple
to God. And here in the verses that I've
read, he makes mention of a lively or a living hope at the end of
verse 3. speaks of that abundant mercy
of God that has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead and he blesses God for such a
hope In fact, here at the beginning, we see how he is very much addressing
himself to the Father, blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And the particular blessing that
he has in mind is evidently the gifts that God has granted in
the person and the work of his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That is the blessing that in
particular Peter is speaking of in the words of our text. And Paul says, thanks be unto
God for his unspeakable gift. All that God has given the two
sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that as it is
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. And see how here in these words
that we've read as a text, the apostle speaks of Christ's Godhead,
and his eternal sonship as that that is to be seen in the truth
of the resurrection. A lively hope, he says, by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, how he is declared
to be the Son of God with power. according to the spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead, as the Apostle Paul says
there at the beginning of the Roman Epistle. But besides speaking
of Christ, Christ in his deity, he also speaks of the sinner's
experience of the grace of God, as that will be made known in
the experience of regeneration or the new birth, because he
speaks how God has begotten us again. begotten us again unto
a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When the sinner, dead in his
trespasses, dead in his sins, when he is begotten, when he
is born again, then he comes to know God as his father in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the words that the Lord
Jesus sends to his disciples after his resurrection from the
dead when he says go to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto
my father and your father and my God and your God. Well Tonight, as we come to consider
these verses, here in this first chapter, verses 3 and 4, I want
to divide what I'm going to say into some two principal parts. First of all to consider in the
resurrection we have a declaration of the sonship of the Lord Jesus
Christ and then secondly also in the new birth of the sinner
in regeneration we have a manifestation of the believers adoption. That is the division then that
I want to take up for a while as we come to consider these
words before we turn again to God in prayer. First of all,
the resurrection is very much a declaration of the Sonship
of the Lord Jesus. Now Christ did refer to himself,
call himself the Son of God. He demonstrated his sonship in
the course of his earthly ministry, in the miracles that he was performing. But we have those words recorded
in John when the Jews were about to stone him, accusing him of
blasphemy, and what does the Lord say to them there? He addresses them and says, Say
ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the
world that thou say that I am a blasphemer because I said I
am the Son of God." He himself makes the statement, he himself
makes that claim then that he is truly the Son of God. It's there in that 10th chapter,
as I said, where they were about to stone him for blasphemy, but
he asks them why. And remember, Aldo, just previous
to that, of course, in the 9th chapter of John, we read of the
Lord's performing a remarkable miracle when he gives sight to
a man who was born blind. And it was never heard that a
man born blind should ever be restored to sight. But so it
was, and then out of the Jews, they cast that man out of the
synagogue. He's excommunicated, as it were,
from Israel. He's an outcast. And the Lord
goes and finds him and says, Does thou believe in the Son
of God? And the man inquires, who is
he, Lord, that I might believe in him? And the Lord declares
himself again. And what does the man say? Lord,
I believe. And he says, and he worshipped
him. and the Lord receives that worship. This is why they called
him a blasphemer, because he does truly reveal himself as
God manifest in the flesh, the eternal Son, the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth, and he willingly receives
the worship of men. And this was such a grievous
offense to the Jews, constantly then. They set themselves against
him again in John's Gospel, remember that incident in chapter 5, where
again the Lord performs that miracle on the man who is lying
at the pool of Bethsaida, and tells the man to take up his
bed and walk, and it's the Sabbath day, and the Jews with their
perverse understanding of what Sabbath rest really meant, they
are so grievously offended against the Lord Jesus and they would
stone him. But it's not only the fact that he told the man
to take up his bed and walk on the Sabbath day, but also because
in that he is revealing his deity. And so we're told how the Jews
thought the Moor to kill him, because he not only had broken
the Sabbath day, but said that God was his father, making himself
equal with God, or by calling himself the son of God. By saying
that God was his Father, they understood that he was declaring
himself to be equal with God, declaring himself to be God. And so it's not surprising when
we see him there, in all the humiliation of the cross, that
one, though God incarnate, God manifest in the flesh, there
on the cross Paul says he is crucified through weakness. Oh,
the reality of the human nature of the Lord Jesus, as He actually
suffers a real death upon the cross, a separation of body and
soul. And there, as He languishes upon
the cross, what is it that the Jews say to Him? Oh, again, they
come and taunt Him, really, if thou be the Son of God. Come
down from the cross, that was their cry, if thou be the Son
of God. Oh, were they not the very instruments
of Satan himself when we think of the temptations of the Lord
at the beginning of that earthly ministry. when he's led by the
Spirit after his baptism, led into the wilderness. And there
he is tempted forty days and forty nights. And then he's hungry. And now the devil comes at him,
if thou be the Son of God. Command these stones to be made
bread. if thou be the Son of God." The
same words that those Jews use as a taunting reproach as the
Lord is suffering upon the cross. They were, I say, the very instruments
of the devil. If thou art the Son of God, or
what and if was there, He is the Son of God, the eternal Son
of God. He is not speaking empty words. when he says that in the 10th
chapter. Why sayest thou, I blasphemous? Because I said, I am the Son
of God. They're not empty words. Did
not the Father acknowledge him, even at his baptism? Remember,
as the heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon him in
the form of a dove and the Father spoke from heaven, this is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Oh, in the temptations
then, Satan is questioning the very Word of God. God had said
it. This is my beloved Son. And Satan
says to him, if thou be the Son, And it's not only at his baptizing
that the Father owns and acknowledges him, but again in the Mount of
Transfiguration, before those three favored disciples, Peter
and James and John, how they see him transfigured, they see
beyond the veil of his human nature, they see through his
humble condition something of the glories that belong to him
as God's. and again the Father speaks from
heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear
ye him. But ultimately, ultimately I
say it is very much in the resurrection. It's after he has completed the
great work that had been given to him in the eternal covenant,
after he has accomplished all the goodwill and pleasure of
God, and lived that holy, righteous, undefiled life, and then offered
himself as the great sinner turning sacrifice. The Father raises
him from the dead, and there we see him vindicated, declared
to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness
by the resurrection from the dead. And that word that's used
there in Romans 1-4, the word declared, literally means designated,
marked out. It's the Father marking him out
for who he is. And it's the same truth that
we have here. The resurrection is plainly a declaration of the
sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. Oh, the Father has owned him
here in the resurrection, but what is being stated in this
text really concerns the interest that his children also have in
that vindication of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is blessing
the Father because what the Father has done in the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is that that impinges upon those who
are believers in Christ. He hath begotten us again unto
a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you." Here is God the Father, here
is the Lord Jesus Christ, and here are those who have been
raised to this glorious hope, this lively hope. They can call
upon God as their father. It is the truth of adoption.
It's not only the sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's also
the sonship of those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't
this what God has predestinated his people to? He's predestinated
them unto the adoption of children. by Jesus Christ to himself according
to his good pleasure. This is all the work of God and
it all impinges on believers. But that adoption, that eternal
adoption in the purpose of God is something that must be manifested
in time. Because you are sons, Paul says,
God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son in your hearts crying,
Abba, Father, it's because you are sons. They are sons in the
purpose of God. There is an eternal adoption.
But it must be manifested, it must be brought out in experience,
and it is that experience of regeneration. This resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ concerns the believer not just as a doctrinal truth
to be assented to, but he concerns the believers with regards to
their experience. That is the force of what is
being said here in the third verse. He hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Or when Paul in Galatians 4 speaks
of Christ's coming, the fullness of the time, remember? God sent
forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. that they may receive the adoption
of sons. That is the purpose of God, in
order that they may receive the adoption of sons. How do they
receive the adoption of sons? Well, it's all bound up with
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Christ's resurrection
is here seen to be the sure pledge We might say it is the meritorious
cause of the believer's new birth. All those who are elect, all
those who are eternally adopted in the purpose of God, must be
brought into an experience of their adoption. What does the
Lord Jesus say to his disciples? Because I live, ye shall live
also. And again in prophecy, in Isaiah
26, 19, thy dead men shall live. Together with my dead body shall
they arise. And what we have there as a prophetic
word is being stated here in the text as something that is
a fact. According to His abundant mercy,
God the Father hath begotten us again unto a lively hope.
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Think of
the significance of what is being said. Apart from the resurrection
of Jesus Christ, there is no possibility of any experience
of salvation. Apart from his resurrection,
there is no eternal life, no forgiveness of sins, no justification. Well, what does Paul say there
in Romans 4? He speaks of Him who was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. All the
justification of the sinner, the sinner being accounted righteous,
is in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from
the resurrection All the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is that
that is meaningless. That's the force of the argument
that Paul is making in that great 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians.
If Christ be not risen, he says, then is our preaching vain. And
your faith is vain. In other words, our preaching
is vain, our preaching is nothing but empty words. And if you believe the preaching,
the message that we're proclaiming, what is your faith? Well, it's
vain, it's empty, it's void, it's nothing. That's what Paul
is saying. Again he says, if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. As I said,
if there is no resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, there
is no forgiveness of sins. But there is hope. This is the
truth of the text. There is hope, a living hope,
a lively hope for sinners in a living Savior. And that's the beauty of this
expression that we have in this text. He hath begotten us again,
he says, unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. So what are we by nature? By nature we are those who are
dead. Dead in trespasses and in sins. You know the the language
of the apostle there in Ephesians chapter 2. It's interesting,
he speaks of what we are by nature as dead, and yet in the same
passage he speaks of us as being so active as children, children
of disobedience. He speaks of those dead as walking. Look at the words that he uses,
the beginning of Ephesians 2, "...you are to be quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins, where in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children
of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation,
our manner of living, walking, living, though dead men." among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind
and were by nature children of wrath even as others. Dead and
yet so dead in sin that we're bent on sinning. The carnal mind
in that state of enmity against God, it is not subject to the
law of God, Paul says, neither indeed can be. Or the wretched
states that the election of grace are
in by nature. How necessary then, how vital
it is that they should be born again, begotten onto a lively
hope. The words of the Lord Jesus to
Nicodemus, marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. this man who was a teacher of
the Jews and he didn't understand the importance or the vital necessity
of a new birth to be those begotten again onto a lively hope and
it is a glorious work of God, it's a mighty work of God which
were born out of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God. Oh, it's the exceeding greatness
of His power to us who do believe. It's according to the working
of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead. He hath begotten us again unto
a lively hope, and it's by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. And then at the end of the chapter,
verse 23, being born again, he says, not of corruptible seed
but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and
abideth forever. And what are we to understand
by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever? It's not
the preached Word. It's not the preached Word. He
does say at the end of the chapter, this is the word, which by the
gospel is preached on to you, but the words are different words
really. In verse 25, it's the word Rema. It means the spoken word, the
preach word. But in verse 23, it's that great
word Logos. It's that word that John uses.
In the opening verses of his Gospel, in the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The
same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by
Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. He is the only begotten. He is
the eternal Son of God And what do we read here in verse 23 then?
Those who are born again, it is by the Logos of God, that
is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, which liveth and
abideth forever. This is the great work that Christ
came to do. Living and dying is that work,
but also rising again from the dead. is that work that the Lord
Jesus Christ came to do. As I say, it is that sure pledge
and that meritorious cause of regeneration in those who are
the elect of God. They come to experience that
new birth whereby they can call God their Father. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And then he goes
on. It's not just the pledge of the
certainty of them being born again, It goes on to speak of
that inheritance which they share with the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is the only begotten Son of God. They are the adopted sons of
God and their heirs and their joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at verse 42, an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved
in heaven for you, heirs of God, joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Remember the promise of the father
to the son back in Isaiah 53, therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death. or he
does not pour out his soul unto death in vain, he will see of the travail of
his soul, he will be satisfied. Or there is a portion, and he
will divide that portion. And who will he divide it with?
He will divide that portion with the great. He will divide that
spoil with those who are great sinners, desperate sinners. Sinners
are high in His esteem and sinners highly value Him. What does the
Psalmist say? Psalm 68, Thou hast ascended
on high, Thou hast led captivity captive, Thou hast received gifts
for men. Yea, for the rebellious also
that the Lord God might dwell amongst them. All the inheritance
that the Lord Jesus Christ bestows upon those who are His own, those
children that the Father has given to Him in the eternal covenant. In Him they have an inheritance,
an eternal inheritance. Think of the prayer of the Lord
Jesus as He comes to the end of His earthly ministry there
in the 17th of John, Father I will that they also whom Thou hast
given me be with me where I am. that they may behold my glory
which I had with thee before the world began." And the Lord
Jesus does not pray in vain when He prays to the Father that He
might have those with Him to behold His glory. Or the psalmist
knew it. Whom have I in heaven but thee,
he says, there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. the believers hope, and that
hope is the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said only the other week,
when we were looking at those words in Hebrews 6, which hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and
which enters into that within the veil, whether the forerunner
is for us entered even Jesus. There is a believer's hope. It's
the Lord Jesus as that one who is risen, that one who is ascended
on high, who has gone to prepare a place for his people that where
he is, they might be also. Now, Peter then, as I said at
the outset, he doesn't just speak of Precious things, and many
precious things are to be found here in these epistles of Peter. Precious faith, the precious
trial of faith, and so forth. But he also speaks of these lively,
these living things. What are believers? They're lively
stones. Or they're those who were dead
but they're alive. and they have in Christ such
a lively hope. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that faileth not away reserved in heaven for you. O the Lord Grant then that as
we come together tonight to pray, we might be enabled to pray in
hope. Often we seem to think that the
state of affairs is so hopeless. It seems hopeless in the nation.
Sometimes we think it seems so hopeless even amongst the people
of God in the churches of truth. But oh God, grant that we might
be those who are favored with that lively hope. as we come
to call upon the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and
to address Him as our Father as we come by and through the
Lord Jesus Himself. May the Lord bless His word to
us.