Born Again to a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3-9

English Standard Version Chapter 1

3 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 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 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.

8 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,

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Background

Peter - Boldness

from Bethsaida

North East Shore on the Sea of Galilee

“House of the Hunter” or “House of the Fishermen”

He was a fishermen(Mat. 4:18) (Mark 1:16)

His Brother was Apostle Andrew (Mat. 4:18) (Mark 1:16)

He was Married (Mark 1) Jesus lifted his “Mother In-Law’s” Fever at his house in Capernaum v30

He by both “Simon” and “Peter” is mentioned more than any other person (other than Jesus) in the Gospels.

Jesus is recorded speaking to Peter more than any other in the Gospels.

Jesus rebuked Peter more then any other disciple, but also was Praised more.

Peter Was the only one with the “Guts” to try and “Rebuke” Jesus. (Mat. 16:22)(Mark 8:32)

Peter was the only disciple to be called “Satan”! (Mat. 16:23) (Mark 8:33)

Times - Tumultuous

Written Approx. 64 AD

Written to: Believers struggling in these times of persecution

Written from: “Babylon” (1 Peter 5:13) some scholars think this is a euphemism for Rome

Within the the Date’s of Nero’s Persecution

Nero wanted to upgrade Rome, but was denied

“Great Fire of Rome”

Rome Burned for 6 days in 64 AD according to Historian Tacitus

70% of the city was burned and in ruin

Some Scholars say He started the fires

Nero blamed Christians

According to Tacitus:

“Covered with the skins of beasts, [the Christians] were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.” — Tacitus, Annals 15.44

Covered Christians with the skins of beasts, they were torn by wild dogs.

Nailed them to crosses.

Tie the Christians to poles and burn them(turning them into human torches that illuminated the night) The Term Roman Candles came from this (Not The Firework)

Why Is This Important?

We get disconnected with the context.

We need this context to properly understand what we are reading.

This Keeps Us From eisegesis of the text (Reading In Your Own Idea’s Into The Text)

1 Peter 1:3–12 (NAC 1-2Pe/Jud): The opening highlights God’s initiative and grace in the lives of believers, and vv. 3–12 continue that theme. In Greek one long and complex sentence comprises vv. 3–12. The main theme is introduced immediately in v. 3. God is to be blessed and praised for his saving work. It is an inestimable privilege and joy to be the object of God’s mercy. We can also divide the text into three main movements:

vv.

3–5,

6–9,

10–12.

Verses 3–5 focus on the end-time inheritance or salvation that belongs to believers. They should bless God because their future salvation is certain, and hence their lives should be marked by an undaunted hope.

Second, the future inheritance gives them joy while they experience the difficulties and suffering of the present time (vv. 6–9). The trials they experience now are not meaningless but serve to refine and purify their faith; hence they will bring glory and praise to God when Jesus Christ reveals himself (vv. 6–7). Therefore their lives are now characterized by joy and by love for Jesus Christ, precisely because they know that eschatological salvation lies ahead of them (vv. 8–9).

Finally, they should praise God because they live in the age of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises regarding the coming of the Christ—his suffering and glory (vv. 10–12). The prophets anticipated and longed for his coming. The angels gaze from afar but have no first-hand experience of it. Peter’s readers, however, live in the day of fulfillment. The words of the prophets were written for them! God is in control of history, and the Old Testament Scriptures point to the coming of Jesus Christ. Believers will praise God when they realize their privileged position in salvation history.

The Text

English Standard Version Chapter 1

3 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 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

eulo-gētos—the NIV translates the word “blessed” here as “praise”

I like this translation because it seems to catch the essence of the opening highlights in these passages

LIVING HOPE - It’s not just hope in some dead thing

Through the Resurrection - Because He Got Up, There is a Reason We Have Hope!

English Standard Version Chapter 1

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Inheritance - Important to understand in this time Inheritance in the culture

ment Loss

ment Lifetime of work

ment change in power and authority

The Contrast of an Earthly Inheritance and the Heavenly Inheritance

English Standard Version Chapter 1

5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Faith

Notitia. Notitia refers to the content of faith, or those things that we believe. We place our faith in something, or more appropriately, someone. In order to believe, we must know something about that someone, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Assensus. Assensus is our conviction that the content of our faith is true. You can know about the Christian faith and yet believe that it is not true. Genuine faith says that the content — the notitia taught by Holy Scripture — is true.

Fiducia. Fiducia refers to personal trust and reliance. Knowing and believing the content of the Christian faith is not enough, for even demons can do that (James 2:19). Faith is only effectual if, knowing about and assenting to the claims of Jesus, one personally trusts in Him alone for salvation.

The Pendulum Story:

Teacher Asked if we know what a Pendulum was? Notitia

Teacher Asked if we knew how a Pendulum Worked? Assensus

Teacher Said “OK” You Understand, but do you truly have Faith?

Gravity will not allow the pendulum to reach the starting point

A Bad pendulum will hurt the performance

Pulls out a chair and says “Who Will Sit here” and unveils a 2x4 frame with a 5lb bag of flower with a rope.

Allegiance

Salvation by Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works, and the Gospel of Jesus the King - Matthew Bates

Example of all three elements found in scripture (1 Thes 2:13)

English Standard Version Chapter 2

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God - notitia

which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men - assensus

but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. - fiducia

English Standard Version Chapter 1

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

For A Little While - The Temporal State of Us Believers

Various Trials - We have (Like Them) have a

English Standard Version Chapter 1

7 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.

Gold Refined by fire - Uncomfortable for the the Gold!!

Butterfly - Hurt it by Helping It.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

8 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,

End of 1 Peter 1:12 “ things into which angels long to look”

2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” - When We Look At Our Outward Situation

5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,

3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.

4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Thank You Lord!

The Outcome!!!