1 PETER

THIS IS A STUNNING VERSE

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.¹

A Letter to Christians Abroad

1:2 Believers are chosen to be included in God’s family, not on the basis of what they have done or who they are, but on the basis of God’s eternal wisdom. Sanctification is the ongoing process whereby the Holy Spirit works in believers, making their lives holy, separated from their old ways and to God in order to be more like Him. obedience: One reason that God chooses us is so that we might serve Him. sprinkling of the blood: This concept, the second reason why God chooses us, draws our attention to three situations in the Old Testament when the Israelites were sprinkled with the blood of animals: (1) Moses’ sprinkling of blood on the Israelites at Mount Sinai, to symbolize their initiation into the covenant (see Ex. 24:5–8); (2) the sprinkling of Aaron and his sons to be the priests of Israel (see Ex. 29:19–21); and (3) the sprinkling of blood performed by priests over healed lepers to symbolize their cleansing (see Lev. 14:1–9). Any of these three cases could be the one that Peter has in mind here.

1:3 according to His abundant mercy: Our salvation is grounded in God’s mercy, His act of compassion toward us despite our condition of sinfulness. has begotten us again: God has given believers a new, spiritual life that enables us to live in an entirely different dimension than the one our physical birth allowed. to a living hope: Hope here does not imply a wishfulness but rather a dynamic confidence that does not end with this life but continues throughout eternity. through the resurrection: Although this phrase may modify the phrase “to a living hope,” the context suggests that it is to be understood as the means of our salvation rather than the means of our hope (see 1 Cor. 15:12–19).²

1:4 inheritance. As God’s children by the New Birth, Christians are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16, 17). Their inheritance is called “salvation” (v. 5; Heb. 1:14).³

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (1 Pe 1:3–5). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

2 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (1 Pe 1:1–3). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

3 Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2005). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (p. 1810). Orlando, FL; Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries.