Born Again to a Living Hope – Sylvia Murphy

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” 1Peter 1:3-4

Descriptive Words given in the Amplified translation to this scripture:

Gratefully praised and adored
Abundant and boundless mercy
To be reborn from above-spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose        Beyond the reach of change

The inconceivable beauty and indescribable joy that will be before us in Heaven, as we serve our Lord, is a vision that takes my breath away and allows me to put this earthly life into a different perspective.

Salvation means that we who do justly deserve the eternal wrath of God have been delivered from the effects of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through believing the blood He shed for our sins is indeed enough because the word of God plainly tells us this is so!

In 1:3, Peter shows three ways that our salvation comes to us through God. If we can grasp this, we will be able to praise God regardless of the many trials we will face in this life.

1.Praise God Because Our Salvation Comes From HIS Great Mercy

Our salvation does not come from any merit of our own doing or worth. God’s grace is a free gift that he displays in the forgiveness of our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus. His mercy brings undeserved favor and compassion to those who suffer.

As we look to God and His great mercy towards us, we can be confident of His love and we can praise Him for the living hope of our salvation. It is a gift we can cling to as we take rest in His worth.

2. Praise God Because Our Salvation Comes From HIS Life-Giving Power

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3.

Our spiritual, life-giving, born again birth, must come from God. We are no more capable of doing this ourselves than we were of choosing our birth parents. Only the Lord can do this! That alone brings rest and peace. He is sovereign. He is almighty, He is God.

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God, 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

3. Praise God because Our Salvation Comes from the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection is what can allow us to be born again to a living hope of eternal life. We are to be confident in Him alone. At best, we can understand this by intellect. But we cannot fully trust in it without faith in God.

In 1:4, here Peter says that our salvation is an inheritance kept in heaven for us. Christ is our inheritance. It is imperishable, free from all death and decay. It will not be destroyed. It is undefiled, free from any type of immorality or impurity and it is unfading. God’s riches are inexhaustible and are reserved, being kept in Heaven for us.

What a privilege to serve such a good God. Lord may the desire of our hearts be to love you more each day and to share the hope of salvation with others that you have so freely given to us. Fill us with the power of your Holy Spirit and cause us to be burdened for your kingdom.

God desires to bless us with His love and goodness. Each day requires a different measure of faith. “He alone knows our hearts and our limitations and how to bring us past them.” (Lee Shipp)

The words to this song are so beautiful.  “Living Hope” by Phil Wickham

       How great the chasm that lay between us

                  How high the mountain I could not climb                     In desperation, I turned to heaven

                       And spoke your name into the night                                                                                                                                    Then through the darkness Your loving kindness
                     Tore through the shadows of my soul                                    The work is finished, the end is written                     Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
         What heart could fathom such boundless grace?            The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of Kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I’m yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

              Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free                               Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me              You have broken every chain
                        There’s salvation in your name                                                      Jesus Christ My living hope                                                                                            

         Then came the morning that sealed the promise                         Your buried body began to breathe                 

Out of the silence, the roaring lion
                    Declared the grave has no claim on me                                            Jesus Yours is the victory                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free                              Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me         

You have broken every chain
                        There’s salvation in your name                                                       Jesus Christ My living hope