The Living Hope God Gives

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  1 Peter 1:3-9

There is little discussion or commentary for the verses listed today.  Follow with me as we look at the description Peter gives, and see what is and shall be yours because you are a child of God.  We are truly a blessed people because of all God does for us. It is no wonder Peter begins his description of the blessings with words of praise.

1. He has given us new birth. 

2. The new birth brings us a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. 

3. Add to that living hope, an inheritance which can never perish, spoil or fade.

4. Your inheritance is kept for you in heaven. 

5. We, through faith are shielded by God's power until our salvation is revealed. 

6. We can rejoice, even though for now we may have to suffer through trials.

7. Our faith is proven through these trials and becomes of great value.

8. The end result is in praising, glorifying and honoring Jesus when he comes again. 

9. This leads us to love him and believe him, even though we have not seen him.

10. We receive an inexpressible joy because we are receiving the result of our faith.

My Bible has paragraph divisions and subtopics written for the major themes. When I read these verses from 1 Peter, it is no wonder the title given to this section of scripture is, "Praise to God for a Living Hope."  Read the verses again and again while understanding the hope and promise belonging to us when we are God's children. 

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