1 Peter 1 Devotional

An Inheritance Kept for You

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”1 Peter 1:3 (BSB)

Peter writes to believers he calls exiles, people scattered and under pressure, and he begins not with advice but with praise. In his great mercy God has given them new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus (1:3). Their inheritance cannot perish, spoil, or fade, and it is kept in heaven for them, while they themselves are guarded by God's power (1:4-5). Both the gift and the people receiving it are held by God.

That is why trials, though painful, are not the end of the story. They prove faith genuine, the way fire tests gold (1:6-7). The call to holiness that follows (1:15-16) rests on what has already been done. They were ransomed from an empty way of life, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a spotless lamb (1:18-19). Holiness is not the price of belonging to God. It is the fitting life of those he has already bought. So Peter's call is to set your hope fully on the grace still to come (1:13).

To think about: Where has your hope drifted toward things that fade, and what would it mean to set it fully on God's grace today?