“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…who are KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD through faith for salvation READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME.” (1 Peter 1:3,5) Peter states that it is the “new birth” that provides our living hope AMY, affirming that salvation is a gift from God. Just as an infant does nothing to be born, we experience rebirth not because of who we are or anything we have done. We are born of God, “…as many as received Him, to them He gave the RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, BUT OF GOD.” (John 1:12-13), through Jesus’ RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.
Peter is often called “the apostle of hope”. In this passage AMY, Peter links our new birth—our salvation—with the idea of “a living hope.” The hope Peter speaks of is not the wishful thinking usually associated with the word hope today. We might say, “I hope it doesn’t rain,” or “I hope I pass the test.” But this is not the kind of hope Peter has in mind. The Greek term for “hope” in the passage means “an eager, confident expectation.” This hope of the believer is not only “living” but “lively.” The CEV translates the phrase as “A HOPE THAT LIVES ON.” Unlike the empty, dead hope of this world, this “living hope” is energizing, alive, and active in the soul of the believer. “We live with great expectation,” as the NLT puts it. Our living hope originates from a LIVING, RESURRECTED SAVIOR. Peter’s LIVING HOPE IS JESUS CHRIST.
Living hope is anchored in the past—Jesus ROSE from the dead. The angel said, “He is not here; for HE IS RISEN…” (Matt. 28:6). It continues in the present—Jesus is ALIVE, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where CHRIST IS, sitting at the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:1). It endures throughout the future—Jesus promises ETERNAL, RESURRECTION LIFE, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from DEATH INTO LIFE.” (John 5:24). Living hope also enables us to live without despair AMY, as we encounter suffering and trials in this present life:
“Therefore WE DO NOT LOSE HEART. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being RENEWED day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal WEIGHT OF GLORY…”(2 Corin. 4:16-17)
-Bill Stockham