Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 1 Peter 1. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Our text for this morning speaks of a “living hope.” One could understand this expression in various ways. Is the “hope” itself “living”? That seems odd. Or is the “hope” about our “living”? Is it a “hope for living”? If it is a “hope,” then is it primarily for the future? Or is it a hope that is in some respects already fulfilled in our lives here and now?
- The answer to these questions is “yes”! And an understanding of “OUR LIVING HOPE” is important for us as Christians, for as Peter mentions, we have indeed been “grieved by various trials.” It is as Jesus stated: “In the world you shall have tribulation.” [Jn. 16:33] So the apostle Paul counseled the members of the early church, the disciples: “We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God.” [Acts 14:22]
- These trials, troubles, and tribulations are part of the general burdens that all people face living in this world infected by human sin. They may also include troubles that are shared only by Christians – by disciples of the Lord Jesus. Regardless, they are troubles and burdens that cause us great sorrow, and they can erode away our peace and joy.
- But this “LIVING HOPE” that God has provided for us, along with our faith, can sustain us in a “joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”! This is the will of our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus, and He is to be thanked and blessed for this. For:
I. By His Mercy, God Has Caused Us To Be Born Again To A Living Hope
Text: “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.”
Statement: “OUR LIVING HOPE” is something that we are “born again” to. It comes to us by God’s “great mercy.” It is not earned or deserved – it comes to us by mercy, in spite of our sin, which God has forgiven! It is not “achieved,” for “He has caused us to be born again.” It is His gift to us, not our work or action!
Application: From this we learn important things about God – that He is love, that His mercies are new every morning, that His steadfast love endures forever, that He wills for us to be saved and to know the truth. In “OUR LIVING HOPE” we are emboldened to truth and integrity in our relationship with God, confessing our sin in the certainty of His gracious mercy and forgiveness. And we learn that God will supply us with what we are unable to do for ourselves – so that we may be and remain His beloved children!
Transition: And this “LIVING HOPE” comes to us by the very power of God in Christ Jesus, for:
II. Our Rebirth To Our Living Hope Is Created And Brought About By The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ
Text: “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
A. Our Rebirth In This Living Hope Is Eternal And Impregnable
Text: “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”
B. It Is Inviolable For All Those Who Are Kept And Guarded In Faith By God’s Power
Text: “kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith.”
C. This Living Hope Takes Us To Eternity In The New Aeon, The Kingdom Of Heaven
Text: “you . . . are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Statement: The hope is living – for it is sure and certain, and eternal. The life which it imparts to us by faith is also sure, certain, and eternal. It is as sure and certain as the resurrection of Jesus – as sure and certain as His resurrected and immortal body lives in glory forever!
Application: So “OUR LIVING HOPE” is alive itself and it is also “life-giving.” It keeps us alive in Christ now and for all of eternity! God is keeping our imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance for us in heaven!
Let us remember that we are being “guarded through faith.” This is critical – also that we remember that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” [Rom. 10:17] The Word comes to us on the pages of Scripture, but especially within our worship together – in the absolution, the reading of Scripture, the sermon, and in the “visible” Word of Christ’s body and blood, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
Transition: And if we “continue” in Christ’s Word, so that God indeed keeps us in faith, then:
III. We Also Rejoice In God With Great Joy
A. We Rejoice Greatly Even In Our Trials And Troubles – Which Only Purify Our Faith And Confirm Our Glory On The Last Day
Text: “In this [OUR LIVING HOPE] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved through various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
B. Though We Do Not See Jesus Now, Our Faith In Him And Love For Him Bring Us Great Joy And Certainty Of Salvation
Text: “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Statement: You see the blessings that “OUR LIVING HOPE” brings to us, regardless of the burdens and grief of this earthly life! We know that all of our troubles yield a good and blessed result – praise, glory, and honor in the day of Christ’s appearing! “OUR LIVING HOPE” brings us to love Jesus even now, and to joy and glory even now, and the outcome is inexorable and guaranteed – the salvation of your souls!
Application: Did you hear how “precious” the genuineness of your faith is? More precious than gold! How we should pray God for the health and guarding of our faith! And how seriously we should take it that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”! How eagerly we should desire this Word – in worship, in Bible Study, and in our daily devotional life! Peter lays out the blessedness that God has bestowed upon us “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This is “OUR LIVING HOPE!”
Conclusion: This hope is living – because Jesus lives! This hope is life-giving – it gives us new life, through faith in Jesus! This hope is living in us – forever, for this is the inheritance in eternal life that God has bestowed upon us! And this hope empowers us with life – faith in Jesus, love for Jesus, and great and glorious joy in life.
This joy is not “happiness” in the midst of our “various trials.” Peter makes clear that we are “grieved” by many things. Rather, this joy persists in power and glory in the very midst of trials, troubles, and tribulation – because of “OUR LIVING HOPE” which God has birthed us to!
Blessed indeed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ! May we also bless Him forever – as we move toward the inevitable outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls! Thanks and praise be to God forever, Amen!
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto live everlasting, Amen.