Welcome back! Or, if you’re just joining me – welcome to 1st Peter. We’re going through 1 Peter, verse by verse.

So, let’s delve in!

1 Peter 1:3-5 – linked, with Strong’s notes.

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.

All right. First… the first phrase.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Pretty straight forward. The word used for “Blessed” is the word Eulogetos, which means blessed, praised – and, incidentally, is the root for the English word “Eulogy”. Man, this reminds of Psalm 103 – Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. God truly is to be blessed, isn’t He? Amen!

“God” is the word Theos, from which we get the word “theology”, today. “Father” is the word Pater, which is an old root for “father” – and the root for “paternal”, and “paternity”. Pretty straightforward. Peter is continuing his benediction, from our previous study in verses 1 and 2.

who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again

Who? God. So, it’s God’s doing – not ours. “According to” (Kata). So, mercy is in accord with Himself.

Not just His mercy, though – his “great” mercy. Or, Polus. Many, much, large. I’d say that’s an understatement!

The word for “mercy” is Eleos – which implies not only a _feeling_ of mercy, or goodwill – but a _desire_ to help.

The phrase “born again” is actually one word – Anagennao, which gives the picture of a changed mind – which conforms to the will of God.

to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

I absolutely love this phrase. “Living hope”. We are born again, in accordance with God’s character, through His mercy to – note that there is a purpose for this rebirth – a “living hope”. Isn’t that cool?

The word “living” is used a lot in the New Testament. It is the same word Jesus uses, when speaking to the weeping women, outside His empty tomb, in Luke 24:5. What does He tell them? Why do you seek the living One among the dead? We are alive! We should, then, live as if we were! And, not just “live” – but live in renewal, as we have been born again, to a changed mind, conformed to the will of God. That’s not all, though.

We are to be born again, living, in hope. The word “hope” is Elpis, and means joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. That gives me hope!

Where is our hope grounded? In the resurrection! For, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, everything in the Christian faith is grounded in the resurrection! If not… our faith is worthless. Thus, our hope is completely in Him, and based in His sacrificial death and resurrection.

THIS is our hope – and our faith.

Which brings us to the next part.

to obtain an inheritance

So, what did the resurrection accomplish? It gave us our eternal “inheritance” (or Kleronomia), as the newly appointed “heirs” with Christ.

which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven

Our inheritance is not subject to earthly malaises. Things all have a “shelf life” – even preservative-laden food spoils, eventually. Even “treasures” are lost, eventually. What we have is not subject to earthly entropy – God Himself is safeguarding it, and has promised it. Who can gainsay God? If God reserves it – we’ll get what He has reserved. Guaranteed.

for you who are protected by the power of God

Who? You. What? Protected. That word is Phroureo. It means ” to guard, protect by a military guard”, and ” by watching and guarding to preserve one for the attainment of something”. What did He promise? Our inheritance. What is He doing? Reserving it. How is He doing it? Guarding it – like a military watch, ensuring that we have the inheritance, and that we are safely able to receive it.

That’s our God!

through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Is there a qualifier? Yes – God guards it through our faith. That is said again, in 2 Tim. 1:12 – for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

What is the inheritance? Salvation! Wasn’t that the whole point? The entire Bible leads toward this one theme. Salvation! What else would our inheritance be?

Now, what does that last part mean?

ready to be revealed in the last time.

Hrmm. Well, the word “ready” is Hetoimos – which can mean a bunch of things. Taken in context with the rest, though, it looks like ready prepared – since God has been protecting it, guarding it, and holding it for us. I’d say He has it ready to go for us.

Then, we have “revealed”. This word is Apokalupto (think Revelation) – revealed to us, or uncovered. Which, I’d think, makes sense, since God has had it prepared, but guarded, and protected. It will be 1. Ready, and 2. Revealed.

Next, we have “in the last time”. Those two words are Eschatos (think “Eschatology – or “end times” study. Left Behind, etc.), and Kairos. So, we have “end/last”, or “extreme” as the definition choices for “Eschatos”. Extreme doesn’t fit, so it’s “last” Always go literally, when possible, right? Then, we have “due measure”, or “a measure of time” – with the latter having several sub-possibilities.

Basically, it’s “when the time is right”, or “the time we’ve waited for”, or “the opportune time”. Well, it’s the “last” of times – so… at Judgement, or “when God says so”. We have the faith already, which is the “qualifier” for this inheritance already… so we have faith in Him to protect it “until the time is right”.

How about you?
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The Bottom Lines:
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We bless God.

God, being God, was merciful, and we were born again, to be like Him.

That rebirth gives us a living hope that is based in Christ’s resurrection

That resurrection gives us an inheritance, which we receive as heirs with Christ

That inheritance is in God’s possession, and safe

We have faith:
That we will have an inheritance
In the author of that inheritance
In His ability to safeguard it
The timing of His decision to give it to us

Only five verses in… and we’re getting some _meat_ – not milk!

I’m really, really liking Peter. How about you?