Wednesday, June 28, 2006
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
PRESERVED FOR BLESSINGS RESERVED
This inheritance that Christ will give us is described in our text as imperishable. That means it won't wither away. It is undefiled. That means there isn't a spot or speck of impurity in it. Not a single grain of black sin residue in the whole thing. The inheritance that is ours in Christ will not fade away. That means it will always remain brilliant, shiny and new, always.
But It doesn't matter how great the inheritance is if the heir never receives it. And that is why the Holy Spirit speaks through Peter to reassure us that while our inheritance is reserved in heaven, WE are reserved for it here on earth.
Instead of "reserved" I should say that we are "preserved" as we wait for Christ's return and revealing. The very power of God has put a protective circle around us through faith, and He will carry us safely through this life until our faith is replaced by sight.
At the return of Jesus, all those invisibles we speak of in the Apostles' Creed will be revealed to be true. Then the Triune God which we have not seen yet have believed in, will be glorified by our own voices and the voices of every other believer that has ever lived.
Then creeds will cease to matter. Statements of faith will serve no purpose, for faith will be replaced by sight. And longing for Jesus' return will change to inexpressible joy in His presence.
