I pray that you would be glorified
today and magnified and that your word would go forth with
power and that you give me an option from on high to boldly
proclaim thy gospel, the gospel of the free grace of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord. May he be magnified and lifted
up high and mighty. In Jesus' name, amen. 1 Peter
chapter 1. We'll continue our study here
in 1 Peter. The name of the message is past,
future, and present. Past, future, and present. Normally we talk about past,
present, and future. But the name of the message today
is past, future, and present. 1 Peter 1, verses 1-5. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
to the strangers scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience
in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you
and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And here's our text, verses 3
to 5. 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 in that fadeth
not away reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time." Now, one of the other titles I was considering for
this message is the word kept. Kept. Last week we finished up verse
2 in our study in 1 Peter looking at the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ and how He has obtained salvation for His
people. And how He has purchased our
pardon and our redemption by the shedding of His own precious
blood. And we also considered that this
verse proclaims in verse 2 that as Jonah proclaimed, salvation
is of the Lord. Because in verse 2 we see the
whole trinity in action in the salvation of a sinner. And we
who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God were saved and
redeemed by Christ 2,000 years ago when He purchased our salvation
upon Calvary's cross. Today I'd like us to consider
verses 3 to 5 where we will see wonderful truth proclaimed here
before us. We see that God's mercy is manifold. its manifold and it will comfort
the Christian pilgrim as we sojourn upon this earth. Look at verse
3 to 5 again. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again into 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 who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation. ready to be revealed
in the last time. Now, it is a cold and lifeless
thing to speak of spiritual things on a mere report from a head
knowledge and not of a heart knowledge. When men and women
who have been born again by the Holy Spirit of God speak of spiritual
things as their own and as having experienced the grace of God
in their lives and in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, there's
a sweetness to their words. There's a sweetness to their
words. And they cannot but proclaim
the great things that Christ has done for them. And they cannot
but do it with praise. With praise and with thanksgiving
for what Christ has done for them. May the Lord keep us from
dead, dry formalism where it's just, oh well, yeah, I know that.
Oh Lord, keep us from that. Keep us from that. Protect us
from that. May our hearts burn within us
when we hear the Gospel. May it burn within us when we
hear the Gospel preached and when we think upon the wondrous
works of the Lord Jesus Christ. May it never become commonplace
to us. May it always be fresh and new. My! We can't even plumb the depths
of this great salvation in Christ. We can't even plumb the depths And we see Peter doing this in
the Scriptures here before us by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God. Peter is penning these words to comfort saints
who are going through trials and tribulations and sufferings.
He's penning these words to comfort them and confirm those who have
been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Well, they go through
these difficulties. And he's penning these words
to give them comfort that they have absolute security. Absolute
security in Christ Jesus our Lord. And we see that in verse
3 as Peter speaks about the abundant mercy which has been given to
the elect in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. It says, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope.
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So let
us consider this, the privilege. The privilege. And it is a great
privilege. The privilege of being one of
the elect of God. The privilege of that. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath forgotten us. Jehovah is the author of all
our blessings. Jehovah Himself. And it's by
His abundant mercy that He chose us in Christ. It's by His abundant
mercy that He chose us in Christ in eternity. This is love unmeasurable. You can't measure this love. It's God who has made us His
children. It's God who has made us to differ. And we're born
again. It says, born again. He's begotten us. We're born
again by the Holy Spirit of God. It's God who's done this. We're purchased by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. God incarnated in the flesh.
This is the work of God. And Peter brings the believers
who are going through trials and suffering in this world back
to the past. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us. He's bringing them back to when
they're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Showing them the
abundant mercy which has been bestowed upon them. And we should
consider that, we who are born again, should consider that today. The abundant mercy which has
been shown us in and through Christ. that were born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. In the Greek, abundant means
many, much, large. In other words, you can't measure
this mercy. You can't measure this mercy
of God and Christ to His people. And notice in the text, they've
been born again. Have forgotten us. That's being
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. It speaks of the new
birth, which only comes by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Look down a little bit in our chapter to verses 22 and 23. Seeing you have purified your
souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unframed love
of the brethren. See that ye love one another
with a pure heart fervently. being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. Let's look at verse 3 again.
It says, 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.
So we see the cause of our salvation is in Christ. And it's according
to God's abundant mercy. The cause of it is God's abundant
mercy. That's wonderful. In the latter part of this verse,
we see the means of our salvation, the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ from the dead. He died in our place and He rose
for our justification. And our sins are all forgiven.
And He said, because I live, ye shall live. Because I live,
ye shall live. Gilben thought this. Had he not
risen from the dead, none would have been quickened or made to
live or have been raised to newness of life. His resurrection is
the exemplar of regeneration. There is a likeness between them
as his resurrection was a declaration of his sonship. So regeneration
is a manifestation of adoption. It's a manifestation of adoption
that were chosen in Christ. And as Christ's resurrection
was his first step to glory, so is regeneration to eternal
life. And both are wrought by the same
almighty power. It's God who's done this. This
is God's work. And see, Peter's bringing this
forth to these Christians who are being persecuted and going
through trials and tribulations and difficulties in their lives.
And every one of us in this room have things we're going through.
So this speaks to our hearts too, doesn't it? Yeah. It can bring us great comfort.
This is God who's done this. I'm born again by the Holy Spirit
because of God. Because of what He's done. And
then look at verse 4. It says, "...to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you." So again, Peter's writing to the... We
know he's writing to the elect of God because that's what it
says right off the bat in verse 2, right? Those who are born
again by the Holy Spirit of God have a lively hope, a living
hope. And it's in Christ. It's in Christ. Our hope is called lively. It's a lively hope. Because it's not based on dead
works, but it's based on the person and work of Christ. Look
at verse 3, "...to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope." A living hope. Christ. Christ. My hope is in Christ. It's yours. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Now let us consider
verse 4 in light of this, as we who are the blood-washed saints
of God have an inheritance. And the Scripture here says it's
incorruptible and it's undefiled. And it fades not away. And it's
reserved in heaven for us. He's pointing us to the future,
beloved. So, He had us look to the past.
And now He's pointing us to the future. And look what the scripture declares.
I remember talking to Brother Bruce Crabtree one time. We were
talking about our salvation and how we can't mess it up. Isn't
that what this verse says? To an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, not faded, not away, reserved in heaven for
you. You know why we can't? Because it's based upon Christ.
Now that doesn't give us a license to go out that door and go crazy,
does it? Not at all. That's an antinomian that believes
that. And that's a person who's lost. But this, it says right
here. To an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, not faded, not away, reserved in heaven for
you. God Himself who chose us, God Himself who redeemed us,
God Himself who regenerated us, gives us an inheritance that's
incorruptible. It's incorruptible. We'll never
be defiled and it'll never fade away because it's in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ who is God. Who is God. And this speaks again, this verse
speaks of our glorification, not our death, to be in the presence
of the Lord in glory. And again, what's the cause of
that? The abundant mercy of God. The
abundant mercy of God in Christ. And Peter brings this wonderful
truth before these suffering saints. And may we consider this,
what an abundant hope we have. What an abundant hope we have
right now. Right now, while we live in this world. We have an
inheritance that's incorruptible and undefiled and that fades
not away, reserved in heaven for you. When you reserve a table
at a restaurant, they usually put a little sign on there, don't
they? Reserved. Reserved. And there's nobody
else at the table until you come. Look at that, beloved. Reserved
in heaven for you. My, it's wonderful. Wonderful. Let us remember how
secure this inheritance is. It's from the Father through
the Son. And it's sure to all the seed. It's sure to every
one of God's elect who were chosen by the Father, redeemed by the
Son, and will be regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. And
note the words here, incorruptible, undefiled. And the words, fadeth
not away. Now, the words fadeth not away
is one word in the Greek. But incorruptible, undefiled
are their own Greek words. And it says to an inheritance
incorruptible, Undefiled, and faith is not a way reserved in
heaven for you. In the Greek, the word incorruptible
is defined as this. Uncorrupted. Not liable to corruption. Not liable to corruption. Not liable to corruption or decay.
And I love this word, imperishable. That's what the Greek word means
for that. That's one. My inheritance in Christ is uncorruptible. My goodness. Things that we inherit
here or things that we have on this earth, they're liable to
decay, aren't they? But not this inheritance. Not
this inheritance here. Oh, do you see what hope this
would give those saints as they're suffering through things in this
world? what joy this would bring them. Oh, my. My goodness. And this inheritance
is incorruptible. Not as material inheritances
like these that we inherit on earth. This is a spiritual inheritance. It's not composed of things such
as silver and gold. I don't know. But of knowledge
and of holiness and of Christ. It's more valuable than all the
silver and gold in this world. And what a source of joy this
is for the believer. This precious truth. Our inheritance
in Christ is incorruptible, therefore it's everlasting. It's everlasting. In the Greek word, the word undefiled
is defined as not defiled, unsoiled. Not defiled, unsoiled. Here's another precious truth
of our inheritance in Christ. It's undefiled. Everything we
do is defiled with sin. Everything we do is defiled with
sin. Everything. Our best prayers, our best worship.
It's all defiled with sin. Our best service for the Lord.
It's all defiled with sin. It's all tainted with sin. And
so what comfort the believer can draw right here. Right here
in these words here. Our salvation. Our inheritance
which is reserved in heaven in Christ is undefiled. undefiled. It's a pure, perfect inheritance
because it's in Christ. Because it's in Him. This is
a far more excellent inheritance than any earthly inheritance.
And this will fill the believer's heart with joy and gladness.
Now, in the Greek, the words faded not away is one word. And
it's defined as unfading. Not fading away. And here's that
key. Perpetual. Perpetual. Can you plumb the depths of this
inheritance, beloved, that we have in Christ? I can't. What a great and amazing inheritance
we have in and through Jesus Christ our Lord. Here we see
that this wonderful heavenly inheritance is unfading. Time
does not affect this inheritance. Time doesn't affect this inheritance. It will never cease to be. It
will never cease to be. And it will never cease to bring
joy to the believer. Because think of this, when we're
in glory, we're praising our King. It will bring joy to the
believer here on earth. It will bring joy to the believer
in heaven. Oh my, it's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. Now,
worldly possessions can bring joy for a season, but then they
can cease to bring joy. But this celestial inheritance
spoken of in our text will bring joy throughout eternity to those
who are the receivers of it. Now, consider the excellence
of this inheritance in our text. It comes from God himself. Therefore,
it's incorruptible. Neither moth, nor rust, nor decay,
nor years have any effect on it. It's absolutely undefiled. Because our God's eternal. Therefore,
that which He gives is eternal. Oh, it's wonderful. And it's
pure and holy. It's untouched by sin. It'll
never fade away. It'll never fade away. As the
things of this world do. Because our inheritance is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. And again, this fills the believer
with great joy. With praise and thanksgiving.
My salvation, the whole of it, is in Christ Jesus. The whole. My inheritance is in Christ Jesus. The whole of it. And it's incorruptible,
undefiled, and it will never fade away because it's not dependent
upon me. Just let that sink in. This inheritance is not dependent
upon us. If it was, it would be corrupted. It would be defiled. And it would
fade away. But this inheritance spoken of
in the text is not dependent upon you and I. It's in and through
Christ Jesus our Lord. Oh my! Is this not abundant mercy? Now we see why Peter penned that.
This is abundant mercy. Abundance. And note the latter part of this
verse is honey for the soul of the believer. Honey for the blood-washed
saint of God. Balm for believers going through
trials and tribulations and sickness or pain. Peter declares to the
weary Christian pilgrim that this wonderful inheritance is
given by God through Christ Jesus our Lord and it is right now
reserved in heaven for you. No matter what you're going through.
is reserved in heaven for you. It's secured beyond the reach
of anyone who would spoil it. It's secured beyond the reach
of anyone who could spoil it. No one can spoil it because it's
brought out by Christ and Christ alone for His people. And this
wondrous inheritance is more precious than all the riches
in the world. And it's as secure as it is precious. It's as secure as it is precious
because it's in Christ. Christ is precious to the believer.
This inheritance is secure and precious as it's in Christ and
Christ alone. Reserved in heaven for you. My,
what joy that brings my heart. I know I'm a sinner. I know I
fail all the time. But this wondrous salvation here,
that I have in Christ, and if you're a believer, that you have
in Christ, is reserved for us in heaven. My, makes you want
to shout. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Again,
this is abundant mercy. This is abundant mercy. God the
Father who graciously elected His people in Christ has also
graciously appointed their inheritance so that the believer can cry
out with the psalmist. Turn if you would to Psalm 16. Psalm
16. The believer can cry this out
with the psalmist. It's God the Father who graciously
elected us in Christ. And it's God the Father who has
graciously appointed our inheritance in Christ. And the believer,
again, can cry out with the psalmist, Psalm 16, verses 5 and 6. The
Lord is the portion of my inheritance. Psalm 16, verses 5 and 6. The Lord is the portion of my
inheritance. It's in Him. My inheritance is
in Him. Oh, my. He's my exceeding reward,
beloved. My. The Lord is the portion of
my inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot, He keeps. This inheritance is reserved
for us in heaven. Reserved for us in heaven. The
lions are falling unto me in pleasant places. Why? Because
I've been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. My goodness. I have a goodly heritage. It's
all in Christ. It's all in Christ. Let's go
back to 1 Peter now. We'll consider verse 5 in light
of these wonderful truths that we've looked at so far. Look
at verse 5 here. And this is speaking of those
who Peter are writing to, the elect strangers scattered throughout
Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, those who
are the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through sanctification of the Spirit and obedience to the sprinkling
of the blood of Jesus Christ. Look at what it says in verse
5. Who are kept by the power of
God. through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. Here Peter is writing to
these suffering saints to look now to the present. See, he's
had them look to the past. He's had them look to the future.
Now he's having them look to the present, right now. Right now, we who believe are
kept by the power of God. Right now. There's things we
go through that would normally crush us if it wasn't for our
Lord. And every one of us have experienced
those. We've looked back and went, how did I make it through
that? Because the Lord carried us through. Because He kept us. And He keeps His people. It says, who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be reserved
are ready to be revealed in the last time. God's people are kept
by God. And this is a wonderful precious
doctrine of the preservation of God's people. And it's right
here on full display in this verse right here. Who are kept
by the power of God. Kept by the power of God. I can't
keep myself, can you? Left to ourselves, we're like
wandering sheep, aren't we? Oh, what's over here? That's
what we're like. God keeps us, doesn't He? He
keeps us. He keeps us. I thank God He keeps
us. What a gracious shepherd our
God is. And what comfort this would bring
to those whom Peter is writing, to the strangers scattered throughout
Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, who are struggling in their
everyday life. What comfort this would bring
them as they go through manifold temptations. What joy this would
bring them. who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Kept. Kept. What a wonderful word. Four letters, but so much. Kept. The beloved of God are kept by
the power of God through faith. In biblical faith has one object,
doesn't it? One object. That's the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are kept by the power of God.
And is this not what our Lord was proclaiming? Turn, if you
would, to John chapter 10. Is this not what our Lord was
proclaiming? What Peter is writing here. Is this not what our Lord
was proclaiming over in John chapter 10 when He was talking
about His sheep? This is wonderful. And then put
your finger in Romans chapter 8 also. John chapter 10. And then put your finger in Romans
chapter 8 because we're turning there right after this. who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Look at John chapter 10. This is the Master proclaiming
this. John chapter 10, verses 27 and 28. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them. Oh, that's Gnostic. He knows them with an intimate
knowledge, beloved. He's loved them from before the foundation
of the world. I know them. And what? And they follow me.
He doesn't say, well, they might follow me if they let me. They
let me be the shepherd. No. Thy people are made willing
in the day of His power. He draws His people with cords
of love. And then He leads them. And He
keeps them beloved. And they follow Him. They follow
the voice of the shepherd. Look at this. And I give unto
them eternal life. Salvation's a gift from God.
And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. They're kept by the power of
God. Who's speaking these words? God
Himself. God incarnated in the flesh to
speak in these words. And that's what Peter's talking
about over there in 1 Peter 1 and 5, who are kept by the power
of God. God's people are kept. The Lord
said He'd keep His people, and they are kept. They're kept,
beloved. Go over to Romans chapter 8.
We're kept by the power of God. The Apostle Paul also writes
of these wonderful truths. This wonderful truth that we're
kept by the power of God. Look at Romans chapter 8, verses
35 to 39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans
8, verse 35-39. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Now, Paul knew about this stuff,
didn't he? Paul knew what it was like to
go through trials and tribulations. We know that. Scriptures declare
that. He went through a lot. As it is written, for thy sake
we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the
slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come." That covers everything
pretty much, doesn't it? And then he goes on. "...nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Now go back to 1 Peter. With that in mind, with what
we just read there in mind, go back to 1 Peter. Why when Paul
wrote that, he said, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus. Why won't these things separate us from the love
of God? Because we are kept by the power of God. We're kept
by the power of God. Now think of this. Because sometimes,
like I say, God himself is the one who keeps us. Jehovah is
the one who keeps us. May this be fresh for us. Things
come all the time unexpectedly in our life. We're kept by the
power of God. This will make the believer's
heart sing. And I know we have trials and tribulations and tears,
we do, a lot. But we're kept. We're kept, beloved,
by the power of God. My, we're kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Now the word kept in our text
in the Greek is defined as, this was marvelous as I looked up
the definition for this Greek word. Kept. Little word, K-E-P-T. Four letters. But the Greek says,
to guard, protect by military guard, to prevent hostile invasion,
or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flights.
We are totally kept by God, beloved. We are encircled and protected
by our great Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're kept
by Him. As I said, look, to ourselves,
we'd wander right off, wouldn't we? We know we would. We who
have been redeemed know we would. But we're captive of it. This
is wonderful. We're guarded by the Savior. Just as a shepherd guards the
sheep, our Savior watches over us. Do you see what hope
this would bring these believers? As they're going through things,
does it not bring us hope to see these wonderful truths proclaimed? Oh my. Who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. The believer is kept by the power of God, preserved safe
amid many dangers to which we are exposed to in our lives.
We're kept. We're kept. And sometimes when a situation
comes up and the squirrel of it catches us off guard, doesn't
it? Sometimes it does. But God keeps us through it all.
He knows what's happening. He knows what's going on. He's
fully aware. And He keeps us. Oh my. The faith that God gives, beloved,
is preserving faith. It's preserving faith. The faith
that He gives is preserving faith by His power. We keep believing
amidst all the trials, tribulations, temptations, and sufferings that
we go through, whether they be physical or mental. Right? It's true. We go through tribulations
in our minds sometimes, and we go through tribulations in our
everyday lives sometimes, don't we? In trials. I'll tell you
what, sometimes the agony in the mind is worse than physical
things we go through. I've experienced that. It's not
easy. It's not easy. But God keeps
His people, doesn't He? He keeps us. We're kept by the
power of God. Kept by the power of God. In the living or lively hope
of verse 3 that we have, it's all in Christ. Of the inheritance
that we have, it's all in Christ. Now, mankind in their natural
state have no hope because their hope's not in Christ, their hope's
in themselves. And this was true of every one
of us who are the elect of God. At one time, we hoped in ourselves,
didn't we? At one time, we did. I did at
one time. We hoped in ourselves. But now we're born again by the
Holy Spirit of God and we have a lively hope. We have a living
hope. We have been shown abundant mercy
in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. And He is our hope. The finished work which He accomplished
is our substitute both in life and in death upon the cross where
He made a perfect atonement for all the sins of all His people.
Where He paid the debt. He paid the great sin debt of
all His people. A debt that not one of us could
pay. And He paid it all. What a Savior. is Jesus Christ our Lord. And
beloved, may we remember that we have an inheritance awaiting
us in glory. Scripture declared that, didn't
it? It's reserved in heaven for us. My! And then, may we leave
here today rejoicing, too, that not only do we have an inheritance
that's incorruptible, undefiled, and faith is not a way, but we're
kept by the power of God. We're kept by our Redeemer. Oh,
what a Savior. What a Savior is Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
for Your mercy and goodness and grace. And what a wonderful text
we looked at today, Lord, that You keep us. You save us. You
chose us, God the Father. You chose us in eternity. We're
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and in You keep us.
Regenerated by the Holy Spirit and you keep us. It's amazing. Grace is truly, truly amazing,
Lord. May we worship thee and adore
thee for the great things you have done for us today and in
the rest of our service. In Jesus name. Amen.