1 Peter 1:4 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

Navigator

1 Peter 1:4

Comments

We are begotten again also to an inheritance which belongs to every child of God, to every one born into the family of God and related by the new birth to Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son. Heaven is ours not simply as a gift, but as an inheritance deeded to us in order to make it more secure and to increase our confidence that it will be ours. By making it also an inheritance, God helps us understand that it is something that cannot be taken away from us. A gift can be withdrawn and the giver can change his mind, but an inheritance is given in law and there are legal processes which make sure we receive it. In this passage the heavenly glory is described entirely in negative terms. The apostle Peter loves triplets, and here before us are three great negatives – what heaven is not, what is not there: ‘Incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.’ Incorruptible means imperishable. Nothing decays. Says the hymn writer, ‘Change and decay in all around I see’ – that’s the rule in this world. But in heaven there will be no change for the worse, no decay, nothing that ever spoils, no failure, no erosion. I live in a realm where everything perishes around me and within me. How many things can I list which will never change, never perish, in the eternal glory? ‘And undefiled’ – that is a different point. There is no blemish; there is no unhappiness to spoil it. The happiest day you have ever experienced, and sadly somehow something happens to ruin it. Not in the eternal glory. There's no pride, no selfishness to spoil it; there’s no temper, no hostility, no lies, nothing at all to take away from the eternal heavenly glory. ‘And that fadeth not away.’ On earth you have a beautiful sight out of your window, and you marvel at it. Perhaps you go on holiday to some spectacular place. But it’s a good thing you're only there for a week or a fortnight, because you can get up every morning and see the sunrise over the most spectacular landscape, and it catches your whole being, and you marvel. After six months however you’ll be taking it completely for granted, and after a year you won’t think anything of it. We tire even of beauty. But in the heavenly glory our sense of wonder and marvel and appreciation will never be diminished forever and forever eternally. We will see the Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory which we never imagined or dreamed of, and we will be overwhelmed and astonished, and drink in wonders a million times greater than the most beautiful thing we ever saw on earth. Heaven is not touched by the curse and what belongs there will last forever. No thieves can reach it. What is that treasure? It is the Lord himself, for God said to Abraham, ‘I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward’ (Genesis 15:1). It is the enjoyment of eternal life and the endless supply of pleasures that are at God’s right hand (Psalm 16:11).‘Reserved in heaven for you.’ The King James translators probably thought long before translating this word ‘reserved’. The Greek word is ‘guarded’, ‘watched’, like a sentry watches. This inheritance is under guard. It's being kept safe for you. It will be undiminished when the time comes to inherit. The King James translators have skilfully captured the point with a little interpretation. You may have an inheritance on this earth, but by the time you come to inherit it, it may barely be there, because those investments failed. A huge inheritance was really quite small by the time you received it. Not this one: it is guarded by Almighty God, so that you get a hundred percent of it, when you receive the inheritance, and eternally. Of course this implies that we too must arrive in heaven; not only is our treasure kept in heaven, but our possession and enjoyment of it is also kept safe. This takes our minds away from the earth and focuses them on heaven, the place at which we are eager to arrive. We are helped to make this shift because the things of earth are already passing away and the things of heaven are incorruptible and more secure than anything found on earth. Why cling to what you are bound to lose anyway? Why not cling to what you cannot lose? God’s gifts on earth may still be enjoyed by the believer even though they are passing away, but they must be enjoyed as those things that are not designed to last and must be forfeited when we leave the earth. We may drink from the streams we pass on earth in order to satisfy the thirst of the body that is also passing away, but the soul must set its sights on something more enduring.

Application

Of course an inheritance is something that we do not yet possess, but this does not stop us relishing it now, for there is no danger of disappointment so that we may set our desire on it and imagine what the possession of it will be like. A man who uses his last ounce of strength to crawl through the desert to reach an oasis does not mind that his last reserve is being used up. All will be recompensed when he reaches his goal. But if he begins to doubt its existence he might not make the effort. So too, the man who doubts the reality of his heavenly inheritance, will not give himself to the service of the Lord as he should. For Christ’s sake he must be willing to lose his life that he may keep it for eternal life. This will seem too high a price to pay for something that is not real. But the Christian, who has tasted that the Lord is good, is ready to give all in order to obtain the prize and is ready to sacrifice the present fading glory for that more solid glory that is to come.

This treasure is placed in heaven before we even get there and it is waiting for us. It is marked by God as belonging to us individually and is reserved for us because we have been adopted as his sons. Each one has a home prepared for them and a reward that is assigned to them. The decision about how to share out heaven’s treasure will not be made when we arrive, but has already been decided by God. Like a father on earth who loves to plan for his children and enjoys the happy expression he sees on their faces, so God takes account of the individual character of each one of his children and designs what is perfect for them in heaven.

Questions

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

1 Peter 1:4 Commentary and Bible Study