The true Christian’s hope of eternal life and a glorious inheritance through the precious sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, is a hope that quickens him to service, supports him in every trial of faith and conducts him in a way of holiness to heaven.
I Peter 1
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
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,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
1 Peter 1:1 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:2 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:3 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:4 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:5 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:6 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:7 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:8-9 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:10-11 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:12 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:13 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:14-16 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:17 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:18-19 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:20-22 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:23-25 – J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter 1:1-12 – Our Imperishable Inheritance
Scattered strangers! The designation is true of us all. Note the reference to the Trinity involved in the opening sentence. Our inheritance is prepared and kept for us, as we for it. We who believe may count on the guarding power of God. Not till our spirit is joined to a perfected body in the presence of Christ will our salvation be complete.
Trial is manifold. There is more or less of it in every true life. The best diamonds take longer in cutting and polishing. But, after all, compared to the eternity before us, it is but short-lived, and there is a needs-be for all. Hope in I Peter 1:3, faith in I Peter 1:7, love in I Peter 1:8, blend in the joy that is unspeakable and full of the glory which is as yet hidden.
Notice that the prophets, angels and apostles are represented as deeply interested in that glorious salvation which God has declared unto mankind in the gospel, and by which we have been redeemed. —Through the Bible Day by Day
1 Peter 1:3 – The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the amen of God to all His deeds for the salvation of men. (E. Kautzch)
I Peter 1:4—An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
Yes, it is an inheritance. It is a free gift, and yet we have a right to it. We do not ask for it—we were born into its blessed privilege. The child that lies in yonder cradle, over which the coronet is emblazoned, may claim his broad ancestral estates simply by right of birth: and it is on that tenure that the saints hold heaven. By God’s great mercy we have been begotten again.
Oh, blessed heritage! Incorruptible! The gnawing tooth of decay cannot injure it. Moth and rust cannot consume, nor thieves break through to steal. No spendthrift hand can scatter or over-spend its treasures. Undefiled! Not a stain on its pure robes; not a freckle on its leaves; not a taint of miasma on its atmosphere. Into the city entereth nothing that defileth, or worketh abomination, or maketh a lie. That fadeth not away! To use the Greek word, it is amaranthine. Some of the fairest hopes that ever blessed human vision; the most delightful friendships; the most perfect dreams of delight, have faded and withered before our eyes. That never can.
It is kept for us, and we are kept for it. It is reserved in heaven for you.
“I have a heritage of joy,
That yet I must not see;
The hand that bled to make it mine,
Is keeping it for me.”
Who by the power of God are guarded through faith.—The idea is that we are being brought through an enemy’s country under a strong escortas the women and children from Lucknow, between the double line of English soldiers, till they were safe from the onset of the Sepoys. We are not in heaven yet; but we are as safe as if we were. —Our Daily Homily
1 Peter 1:5 – A kite soaring on high is in a situation quite foreign to its nature; as much as the soul of man is, when raised above this lower world to high and heavenly pursuits. A person at a distance sees not how it is kept in its exalted situation; he sees not the wind that blows it, nor the hand that holds it, nor the string by whose instrumentality it is held. But all of these powers are necessary to its preservation in that preternatural state. If the wind were to sink, it would fall. It has nothing whatever in itself to uphold itself:
it has the same tendency to gravitate to the earth that it ever had, and, if left for a moment to itself, it would fall. Thus it is with the soul of every true believer. It has been raised by the Spirit of God to a new, a preternatural, a heavenly state; and in that state it is upheld by an invisible and almighty hand, through the medium of faith. And upheld it shall be, but not by any power in itself. If left for a moment, it would fall as much as ever. The whole strength is in God alone; and its whole security is in the unchangeableness of His nature, and in the efficacy of His grace. In a word, it is “kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation.” (Salter)
1 Peter 1:7 – When the devil tries our faith it is that he may crush it or diminish it; but when God tries our faith it is to establish and increase it. (Marcus Rainsford)
1 Peter 1:7 – God has settled in heaven certain trials of our faith, which will as surely befall us as the crown of glory be given us at Christ’s appearing. God’s purposes of grace are a golden chain; not a link must be missing. (Moody)
1 Peter 1:7 – Unfaithfulness will be to our souls as the deluge to the world,—a flood to drown us in perdition. Persecution will be to us as the deluge to the ark,—a flood to lift us toward heaven. (Punshon)
1 Peter 1:13-25 – Redeemed and Purified
The appeal for a holy life is enforced by considering the great cost of our redemption and the great hope which is opened before us. Ours must be the girded loins, lest our desires trail after forbidden things, or be sullied by the mud on the road. We must be holy, as God is: and this can be realized only when we allow God, by His Holy Spirit, to pour Himself into our natures.
There is no fear like that which love begets. We do not fear God with the fear of the slave or felon, but with the fear of the love that cannot endure the thought of giving pain to the loving and loved. Who can think of returning to Egypt, when such a Passover lamb has redeemed us! Our redemption was not an after-thought with God. It is part of an eternal plan; let us not get entangled in the meshes of mere earthly ambition. Notice the familiar combination of faith, hope and love (I Peter 1:21-22). But these graces are only indigenous in those who have been twice born by the Spirit through the Word.
—Through the Bible Day by Day
1 Peter 1:14 – There is nothing like an obedient today to reveal God’s will tomorrow. (Moody)
1 Peter 1:16 – The highway of holiness is along the commonest road of life—along your very way. In wind and rain, no matter how it beats—it is only going hand in hand with Him. (Mark Guy Pearse)
1 Peter 1:19
The Lamb for an individual.—Genesis 4:4.
The Lamb for a household.—Exodus 12:3.
The Lamb for a nation.—Numbers 23:4.
The Lamb for the world.—John 1:29.
1 Peter 1:23 – The Word abideth. The Jew hated it—but it lived on, while the veil was torn away from the shrine which the Shekinah had forsaken, and while Jerusalem itself was destroyed. The Greek derided it,—but it has seen his philosophy effete and his Acropolis in ruins. The Romans threw it into the flames—but it rose from its ashes, and swooped down upon the falling eagle. The reasoner cast it into the furnace, which his own negligence had heated “seven times hotter than its wont,” but it came out without the smell of fire. The formalist fastened serpents around it to poison it, but it shook them off and felt no harm. The infidel cast it overboard in a tempest of sophistry and sarcasm—but it rode gallantly upon the crest of the proud waters. And it is living still—yet heard in the loudest swelling of the storm—it has been speaking all the while—it is speaking now. (Punshon)
1 Peter 1:25 – The empire of Caesar is gone; the legions of Rome are mouldering in the dust; the avalanches that Napoleon hurled upon Europe have melted away; the pride of the Pharaohs is fallen; the Pyramids they raised to be their tombs are sinking every day in the desert sands; Tyre is a rock for bleaching fishermen’s nets; Sidon has scarcely left a wreck behind; but the word of God still survives. All things that threatened to extinguish it have only aided it; and it proves every day how transient is the noblest monument that man can build, how enduring is the least word that God has spoken. Tradition has dug for it a grave, intolerance has lighted for it many a fagot; many a Judas has betrayed it with a kiss; many a Peter has denied it with an oath; many a Demas has forsaken it, but the word of God still endures. (Cumming)