1 Peter 1:3b-5 – A Living Hope and an Imperishable Inheritance

If anyone here this morning is a South Carolina native, you may be aware that the official motto of SC is Dum spiro spero. It is a Latin phrase which means, “While I breathe, I hope.” I think that is a powerful state motto, even though I may be biased. It reveals something about the nature of mankind.  All humanity clings tightly to a hope of one kind or another. Hope is essential; Most, if not all, people hope in something or to put it another way – are hopeful about something. In fact, I think we would all generally agree that to lose one’s hope or to have no hope is perhaps the most tragic thing that can ever happen in life.

To say that all human beings cling to a hope, however, is not to say that all human beings have a true, living hope. Many non-believers place their hope in things that are only fleeting — money, fame, power, and so on. Yet, all created things will one day come to an end. The temporary things that we hope in will let us down, if only because they don’t last forever. Created things are perishable. Because such things will one day come to an end, to put our true hope in them is, in the end, an exercise in futility.

That’s not to say that such hope is useless. Having a desire for good that might or might not come is the way that God has wired all of us. It is healthy for us to be hopeful in our everyday lives, and such hope is a gift of common grace. It’s this hope that helps us plant gardens, build houses, stock shelves, follow a recipe, read a book, and teach a child. Yet this hope is frequently bruised by disappointment— sometimes even despair.


The Christian, however, has a different hope. As Peter tells us in today’s passage, we have a living hope. This living hope that believers possess will never end and is promised to those who have faith in the Lord Jesus.

However, because of sin, we all struggle to place our true hope in the imperishable inheritance God has promised to those who are born again rather than the temporary things of the world.

Scripture reminds us that it is only those who are born again that can have true, living hope. Why? Because of Christ. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead demonstrated that He was who he said he was, the Savior of God’s people. We read in John 3:16 that God gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, that is - an eternal inheritance. That is what the apostle Peter is echoing here in 1 Peter.

It is those who are born again who receive all that God has promised to his people. That includes the promises Peter writes of here.

What promises has God given to those who are born again? In chapter 1, verses 3-5, the Apostle Peter identifies two promises God has given to those who are born again. You can see them printed there for you on page six of the WG.

God has given those who are born again a living hope through Christ and God has given those who are born again an eternal inheritance through Christ.

As we understand what we are given or what has been secured through Christ for those that are born again, our hope is renewed and we can live in light of our promised, eternal inheritance. So let us look at these verses together now.

The first thing we must notice here is that these promises, of living hope and an eternal inheritance, only come to those who are born again.

To be born again does not literally mean a physical rebirth, but a spiritual rebirth. In John 3, Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Nicodemus was thinking of a physical rebirth. But Jesus said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” Jesus was speaking of a spiritual rebirth.

Scripture teaches us that when we are first born, we are dead spiritually. We read in Psalm 14:1-3 – “They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” And in Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This is our reality according to our human nature, our fallen nature.

That is why we need to be reborn, or regenerated, or redeemed. Each of those terms indicate we need to be brought from death to life. When we are reborn, saved, regenerated, we are made spiritually alive. We are no longer dead in our trespasses, but we are made alive through Christ.

Ephesians 2 says – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

Paul is telling us there in Ephesians and Peter is telling us here in 1 Peter 1, that our being born again is completely according to the grace and mercy of God that we can be saved. Peter is emphasizing that salvation is based entirely on God's loving initiative. That loving initiative includes His mercy. All that follows in verses 4 and 5 happens because of God’s mercy towards sinners. It is He who saves us. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. It is not your own doing. Just as we are passive in natural birth, so we are in spiritual birth. The focus therefore is on God's initiative in producing new life. No one takes any credit for being born. It is something that happens to us. It is the same with us spiritually. It is God regenerating us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Are you born again? Have you trusted in the person and work of Christ? Have you been brought and bought from death to life? For it is only those who have been born again who will receive the promises Peter now lists.

The first promise we see there in verse 3, is that God gives those who are born again a living hope. We often use hope to refer to wishful thinking. I hope I do well on this exam. Or I hope we can go on this trip. I hope I get a raise. There is nothing inherently wrong with this kind of hope, if we ultimately trust God with the results. However, this is not the hope to which Peter refers here. The meaning here is a confident expectation.

We could also say what we hope in is what we put our trust and confidence in. This helps us see how because of our fallen nature, our confidence or our hope can be misplaced. This type of hope is misplaced if its focus is on temporary created things.

Peter tells us here that the hope of the believer, those who are born again, is a living hope. In the Bible, hope is not uncertainty or wishful thinking, but a confident expectation of future blessing based on facts and promises. In other words, biblical hope references something that is certain but not yet fully seen or experienced. The modifier “living” indicates the underlying and permanent character of this hope.

So what is the basis for our new life? How are we born again? How do we receive this living hope? Peter tells us that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead God has made us alive and has given us living hope. Without the resurrection of Christ, our rebirth would be impossible, and our hope would be meaningless. By rising from the dead, Jesus Christ has given us the assurance that we, too, shall rise with him. The resurrection assures us that Christ was who he said he was and that he has the power to raise us from death to life. So it is through trusting in Christ – his life, death, and resurrection that we are born again.

Pastor, author, and theologian Edmund Clowney describes the relationship between the resurrection of Christ and the believer’s living hope this way -

Christ's resurrection spells hope for us not just because he lives, but because, by God's mercy, we live. By the resurrection of Christ, God has given life, not only to him, but also to us. Our faith and hope are in God; His living word, the good news of the gospel, has brought us to life…Our hope is anchored in the past; Jesus rose! Our hope remains in the present; Jesus lives! Our hope is completed in the future; Jesus is coming!

Do you possess a living hope? You may understand that Christians are to have a living hope. But do you personally have a living hope?  When the troubles and trials of this world weigh on you, do you have a living hope? Maybe those struggles are life changes, or aging, or disappointments, or fears about the future. If your child is having a difficult time, at home or at school, or they are veering off onto the wrong road, do you have a living hope? Or if your health is failing, either physically or mentally, do you have a living hope?  Even as Christians, if we search our hearts, many times we will find that our hope is tied to created things, things that will not last, that will eventually fade and perish, things that will eventually let us down. If that describes you, you are in good company. We all struggle with misplaced hope. However, if you have been born again, you can renew your hope in Christ today. He is worthy of all your hope. Your hope, your confidence can rest fully in Him. If you do not know Christ, if you are not born again, you do not have a living hope. God calls you this day to put your faith in the resurrected Christ. In Him, you have a living hope.

The other promise that Peter identifies is that God gives those who are born again an eternal Inheritance. Look at verse 4. He writes, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

In other words, through the resurrection of Christ, we are recipients of the inheritance God has stored for us in heaven. God has promised this since his covenant with Abraham.

But what do we inherit? Peter is unable to describe in positive terms the inheritance that is waiting for us. Ironically, because of its great value, he can describe it only in negative terms. He chooses three adjectives to tell us what our possession is not and implies that these words reveal the true nature of the inheritance. Imperishable - Our treasure is not subject to death or destruction; It can never perish. Moreover, it is not limited by time, but is eternal. Undefiled - It can never be spoiled, corrupted, or polluted. It remains free from any blemish and is pure. Unfading - it is incapable of fading. When a flower has passed its peak, its beauty fades.

However, this can never be said of our inheritance from God. It will never change or pass away. How do we know? Peter says that it is kept in heaven by God. Earthly possessions are subject to constant variation and change, but our eternal inheritance is safely guarded by God in heaven. This inheritance is permanent and we can have full confidence that we will receive it. Peter also emphasizes the personal nature of this inheritance – it is for you.

We have all probably seen a show or a movie where an inheritance is being passed along with the reading of a will. It can be interesting/uncomfortable if there is some uncertainty about who will receive what from the inheritance. Those who are waiting expectantly are relieved when their specific name is read as a recipient of the inheritance. If you have been born again, your name is on the inheritance. Let that encourage you and renew your hope this morning.

But what is it? What is this imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance that is kept for us?

Peter tells us in verse 5. He writes, “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The term “salvation” is a synonym of inheritance. It means complete and final future deliverance from sin and full enjoyment of eternal glory. So, Peter equates the inheritance to our salvation which occurs in and through Christ.

Clowney writes, “The salvation that the prophets anticipated is the grace that Christians have now received. Yet Christians still await the salvation to come. Complete as salvation is, ready as it is, even experienced as it is, it still has a glorious future. That is what Peter means when he says in the last time it will be revealed when Jesus Christ is revealed. Our salvation is our inheritance, the full glory of being with the Lord forever.”

Scripture teaches us that our inheritance is not simply a land, a city, or even a new earth. It is all that God will give us; His salvation. Our inheritance will be revealed at the last day, but God has it ready for us now. It is finished. God's plan for the future is already a reality. In fact, our final inheritance is not merely kept by God; it is actually the Lord himself. God said to Aaron, “you will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.” (Deut. 32:9)

So ultimately our inheritance is the Lord Jesus himself. This is an amazing promise! We receive Jesus and all that Jesus inherits as the first-born Son. As God’s children by the new birth, Christians are- “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,” as Paul writes in Romans 8:17. Our inheritance is in Jesus and through Jesus. It is our eternal salvation which we will enjoy forever in heaven.  

Notice also what Peter says about our inheritance/salvation. We are assured that we will receive this inheritance. Why? Because not only is God keeping the inheritance for us, he is keeping us for the inheritance.

It would not be very comforting at all to know that nothing could destroy our heavenly inheritance if we could however lose it at last. But that is not the case. The same power of God that keeps our inheritance also keeps us. He can promise it because it is the effect of His power.

And God, by his power, guards his people. The word used here literally means kept under guard. It is a military term that can mean either to protect someone from danger or to prevent someone from escaping. We can think of it like protective custody.

When dangerous people (think those involved in the mob, for instance) are put on trial, the witnesses that are called to testify against them could be in danger. If that is the case, they are put into protective custody. It is almost like they are in custody, but it is for their protection. God has put us under arrest, as it were, to keep us safe for His day.

Can we be sure that we will come into possession of this eternal inheritance? To this Peter answers, “Yes.”  He teaches that what is promised is preservation: you are kept; The author of it is God; The means in us which God uses for that end are our own faith and care; The end to which we are preserved is salvation; And the time when this comes to full realization is the last time period. Such is the tender care of God over his people that he not only gives them grace, but preserves them unto glory.

I’ll end this message by reading an excerpt from an article in Ligonier Ministry’s Tabletalk magazine that I think sums quite well what God, through the apostle Peter, has been teaching in this passage. It says:
Christian hope is not a hope that everything will work out in this life; rather, it is hope that God will make everything work out for our ultimate good and His glory. Hope is not wishful thinking; it is confident expectation. Hope is not the absence of sadness; it is the presence of the Holy Spirit. Hope is not a feeling; it is a mindset fixed on God that informs our feelings. Hope is trusting God because of who He is and what He has done as we await the fulfillment of all His promises now and throughout eternity. People will continue to disappoint us, our loved ones will suffer and die, Satan will attack us, and we will struggle against our flesh. In those dark times when we are tempted to feel hopeless, we must preach to ourselves just as the psalmist did: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps. 42:5–6). We hope not because of our circumstances but because of Christ—His divine person, sinless life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. Now, as we eagerly await His return, we wait with confident expectation before His face, coram Deo, remembering that one day when we see Him face-to-face, there will no longer be any need for hope. Then our hope will be completely fulfilled, our eternal inheritance will be realized, and everything will be all right forever.

Let us pray.