1Pet 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 Unto an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, kept in the heavens for you,
[Part 1 of 3] First Peter 1:4 says, "Unto an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, kept in the heavens for you." At the end of verse 3 there is a comma, not a period. Then verse 4 begins with "unto." This indicates that "unto an inheritance" in verse 4 is in apposition to "unto a living hope" in verse 3. This means that the living hope is the inheritance and that the inheritance is the living hope. A living hope, resulting from regeneration, is our expectation of the coming blessing; an inheritance is the fulfillment of our hope in the coming age and in eternity. The inheritance in verse 4 comprises the coming salvation of our souls (see verses 5 and 9), the grace to be received at the unveiling of the Lord (v. 13), the glory to be revealed (5:1), the unfading crown of glory (5:4), and the eternal glory (5:10). All these items of our eternal inheritance are related to the divine life which we received through regeneration and which we are experiencing and enjoying through our entire Christian life. "This inheritance is the full possession of that which was promised to Abraham and all believers (Gen. 12:3; Gal. 3:6), an inheritance, as much higher than that which fell to the children of Israel in the possession of Canaan, as the sonship of the regenerate, who have already received the promise of the Spirit through faith as a pledge of their inheritance, is higher than the sonship of Israel." (Wiesinger, quoted by Alford). (Continued tomorrow) (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of First Peter, pp. 27-28. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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