Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 4

 Being Born Again to a Living Hope Part 2

1 Peter 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

The Apostle Peter continues on in his discourse to the scattered Jewish converts to Christ back then and to we converts to Christ today and all of His converted sons and daughters of every era and generation since His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead and ascension back to Heaven where He now sits upon a Throne of Grace ready to dispense that grace to any of us His children 🧒 and also ready to make any broken, battered, and bewildered sinner into a saint by that same grace. The Apostle wants them and all of us to know what is the greatness, goodness, and gloriousness' of the reality that He (God) 'begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead', and that we would know what that means and does for us and in us, first by what he declares in the next verse, as it is written, "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you," (1 Peter 1:4) (KJV). The little English phrase 'an inheritance' is translated by the Greek word klēronomia meaning heirship, that is, (concretely) a patrimony or (generally) a possession: - inheritance. The Apostle Paul wrote of this 'inheritance' of ours to the believers in Rome with these words, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (Romans 8:12-17) (NKJV). The Apostle Peter calls our inheritance 'incorruptable' and 'undefiled' and 'that fadeth not away', and this first English word is translated by the Greek word aphthartos meaning undecaying (in essence or continuance) and the second word is translated by the Greek word amiantos meaning unsoiled, that is, (figuratively) pure and the final little English phrase is translated by the Greek word amarantos (used this one time only in the New Testament) meaning unfading, that is, (by implication) perpetual. In other words, all of us who have been begotten to a lively hope, i.e. born again have been made eternal sons and daughters of God the Father through Christ resurrection from the dead and our situation, state, or status as such cannot ever be broken or severed by anything natural (done to us or against us by men) or supernatural (done to us by principalities and powers, that is, demons), for our inheritance reserved for us in Heaven is undecaying (in essence or continuance), unsoiled and pure, unfading and perpetual. Note: "This debate, discourse, and disagreement upon whether or not a True Christian can lose his or her salvation should have stopped a long time ago, for all the New Testament 📝 writers (inspired by God the Holy Spirit) have made it clear as Peter does here once again declaring us of being 'begotten again to a lively hope' that when a sinner is born again or born anew we can never lose our 'new birth' just as we can never reverse our physical birth by rewinding time and never being born to the earthly Father & Mother that begot us through their sexual union with one another. The problem stems from people calling and claiming themselves to be Christians and then denying the Word of God with their words and more importantly with their lives. When our Lord Jesus Christ says these thundering, titanic, and terrifying words, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matthew 7:21-23) (NKJV), He refers to spiritual or religious people who think in their own natural minds that they belonged to Him, yet they were never begotten again to a lively hope or born again by Him, so it was not that He did not know who they were or what they did in their lives because He is Omniscient knowing all things, but He never knew them in an intimate personal relationship of love 😍 and it is obvious by what our Lord says at the end, for they practiced sin as their way of life or lifestyle and even affirmed the practice of all types of sin which proves they had never been born again or born from above by our Lord Jesus Christ."

Here is what John Wesley had to say of 1 Peter 1:4, "To an inheritance - For if we are sons, then heirs. Incorruptible - Not like earthly treasures. Undefiled - Pure and holy, incapable of being itself defiled, or of being enjoyed by any polluted soul. And that fadeth not away - That never decays in its value, sweetness, or beauty, like all the enjoyments of this world, like the garlands of leaves or flowers, with which the ancient conquerors were wont to be crowned. Reserved in Heaven for you - Who 'by patient continuance in welldoing, seek for glory and honour and immortality.'" Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of 1 Peter 1:4, "Through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus we now cherish the hope of that future inheritance in Heaven. Christians are regarded as the adopted children of God, and Heaven is spoken of as their inheritance - as what their Father will bestow on them as the proof of His love. It will not fade away and vanish, as that which we inherit in this world does. The meaning here is, that the inheritance will be imperishable, or will endure forever. Here, to whatever we may be heirs, we must soon part with the inheritance; there it will be eternal. And undefiled -The word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. As applied to an inheritance, it means that it will be pure. It will not have been obtained by dishonesty, nor will it be held by fraud; it will not be such as will corrupt the soul, or tempt to extravagance, sensuality, and lust, as a rich inheritance often does here; it will be such that its eternal enjoyment will never tend in any manner to defile the heart. 'How many estates,' says Benson, 'have been got by fraudulent and unjust methods; by poisoning, or in some other way murdering the right heir; by cheating of helpless orphans; by ruining the fatherless and widows; by oppressing their neighbors, or grinding the faces of the poor, and taking their garments or vineyards from them! But this future inheritance of the saints is stained by none of these vices; it is neither got nor detained by any of these methods; nor shall persons polluted with vice have any share in it.' Here no one can be heir to an inheritance of gold or houses without danger of soon sinking into indolence, effeminacy, or vice; there the inheritance may be enjoyed forever, and the soul continually advance in knowledge, holiness, and the active service of God. And that fadeth not away - This word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, though the word occurs in 1 Peter 5:4, applied to a crown or garland. The word is properly applied to that which does not fade or wither, in contradistinction from a flower that fades. It may then denote anything that is enduring, and is applied to the future inheritance of the saints to describe its perpetuity in all its brilliance and splendor, in contrast with the fading nature of all that is earthly. The idea here, therefore, is not precisely the same as is expressed by the word 'incorruptible.' Both words indeed denote perpetuity, but that refers to perpetuity in contrast with decay; this denotes perpetuity in the sense that everything there will be kept in its original brightness and beauty. The crown of glory, though worn for millions of ages, will not be dimmed; the golden streets will lose none of their luster; the flowers that bloom on the banks of the river of life will always be as rich in color, and as fragant, as when we first beheld them. Reserved in heaven for you -The difference in the text and the margin arises from the various readings in mss. The common reading is 'for you.' The sense is not materially affected. The idea is, that it is an inheritance appointed for us, and kept by one who can make it sure to us, and who will certainly bestow it upon us."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…